Dálvi - by Laura Galloway (Paperback)

Book Synopsis

Part memoir, part travelogue, this is the story of one woman's six years living in a reindeer-herding village in the Arctic Tundra, forging a life on her own as the only American among one of the most unknowable cultures on earth.

An ancestry test suggesting she shared some DNA with the Sámi people, the indigenous inhabitants of the Arctic tundra, tapped into Laura Galloway's wanderlust; an affair with a Sámi reindeer herder ultimately led her to leave New York for the tiny town of Kautokeino, Norway. When her new boyfriend left her unexpectedly after six months, it would have been easy, and perhaps prudent, to return home. But she stayed for six years. Dálvi is the story of Laura's time in a reindeer-herding village in the Arctic, forging a solitary existence as she struggled to learn the language and make her way in a remote community for which there were no guidebooks or manuals for how to fit in. Her time in the North opened her to a new world. And it brought something else as well: reconciliation and peace with the traumatic events that had previously defined her - the sudden death of her mother when she was three, a difficult childhood and her lifelong search for connection and a sense of home. Both a heart-rending memoir and a love letter to the singular landscape of the region, Dálvi explores with great warmth and humility what it means to truly belong.

Review Quotes

"[A] fascinating memoir." --The New European

"[T]his remarkable memoir is as stirring as it is gripping... a joyous, life-affirming read." --Love Reading

"An affecting memoir and a paean to the singular climate and landscape of the Arctic, Dálvi (winter in northern Sámi) is a profound exploration of connections lost and found." --Traveller Magazine

"Laura Galloway's account of her escape to a new life in the Arctic tundra is an enchanting tale of courage, hope and breath-taking grit. I loved it." --Christina Patterson, author of The Art of Not Falling Apart

"Meeting Laura Galloway in the pages of her memoir has been like dropping into the incredible life of someone who inspires you to the moon and back. How far would you go to save your own life? For Laura the answer is to the ends of the earth. This astonishing, tender, jaw dropping story is a page turner. Take this unforgettable journey with Laura and return with gems for your own life." --Sheri Salata, author, The Beautiful No

About the Author

Laura Galloway is a writer and communications strategist. She began her career at the Los Angeles Times and holds a Master of Arts in Indigenous Journalism from the Sámi University of Applied Sciences in Kautokeino, Norway, and a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science from the University of Southern California. An ardent animal lover, she and her partner live with her two reindeer-herding dogs and two cats.