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The Blue Hours: My Summers and Winter in Antarctica
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100 copies available
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A sweeping memoir of seven seasons spent living in Antarctica, and what it means to push past the boundaries of the known world and your own limits.
Humans have romanticized Antarctica for centuries. To Stephanie Krzywonos, Antarctica is a place to search for answers—and something larger than herself.
Hungry for the sublime and haunted over her best friend’s tragic death, Stephanie leaves her entire life behind to live in Antarctica as an ordinary worker and tests the limits of survival. Over six polar summers and one astonishing winter, she encounters adorable penguins, colossal glaciers, and whiteout storms. In old explorers’ huts, the traces of ghosts show the extremes to which people are willing to go to find peace. In this rare account of an Antarctic winter, the sun disappears for over four months, and Stephanie reckons with Antarctica’s complicated past alongside her own grief and desire to live—all while auroras, the moon, sunrise, and darkness itself nourish her. Antarctica has come to symbolize despair and hope in a rapidly warming planet. Who truly belongs there? In a wounded world filled with so much loss, is healing even possible?
An exquisite blend of memoir, history, criticism, and science, The Blue Hours illuminates hidden histories of life on “the Ice” and the gives voice to the natives—seals and whales, ice and rock—that make up the extraordinary body of Antarctica herself.
Humans have romanticized Antarctica for centuries. To Stephanie Krzywonos, Antarctica is a place to search for answers—and something larger than herself.
Hungry for the sublime and haunted over her best friend’s tragic death, Stephanie leaves her entire life behind to live in Antarctica as an ordinary worker and tests the limits of survival. Over six polar summers and one astonishing winter, she encounters adorable penguins, colossal glaciers, and whiteout storms. In old explorers’ huts, the traces of ghosts show the extremes to which people are willing to go to find peace. In this rare account of an Antarctic winter, the sun disappears for over four months, and Stephanie reckons with Antarctica’s complicated past alongside her own grief and desire to live—all while auroras, the moon, sunrise, and darkness itself nourish her. Antarctica has come to symbolize despair and hope in a rapidly warming planet. Who truly belongs there? In a wounded world filled with so much loss, is healing even possible?
An exquisite blend of memoir, history, criticism, and science, The Blue Hours illuminates hidden histories of life on “the Ice” and the gives voice to the natives—seals and whales, ice and rock—that make up the extraordinary body of Antarctica herself.
- GenresNonfiction
Kindle Edition
Expected publication December 1, 2026
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Displaying 1 - 14 of 14 reviews
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
There is such a thing as too many good ideas. Unfortunately, an example of this is Stephanie Krzywonos' The Blue Hours. The book is marketed as part memoir where the author tries to recover from a friend's death and ends up signing on for multiple tours in Antarctica. However, this book is also a mixture of history, climate change, sexism, pollution, international treaties, race, and, thankfully, penguins. This is too much for a 1,000 page book, let alone one just over 300 or so pages.
All of these topics are interspersed throughout the narrative and not in a way that made sense to me as a reader. We jump from history back to her earlier life, then to a time she is in Antarctica. Each of these topics feels, at best, underserved and, at worst, badly misleading. As an example, Krzywonos quickly discusses the (possible, but probably not) "discovery" of the North Pole. She focuses mostly on Matthew Henson and does her best to disparage Robert Peary. Now, there is nothing wrong with that viewpoint as I wholeheartedly agree on the whole. Henson is a much easier figure to like. However, there are books upon books looking at the race for the North Pole and Krzywonos' analysis is overly simplistic to the point of feeling misleading to me.
While a one-off like that would be an annoyance, this is not the only time the history in this book is shortchanged with a clear aim at focusing on problematic elements of polar explorers. Again, they are legion, and anyone who has read extensively on polar exploration can list them relatively easily. However, Krzywonos herself brings up that her analysis of them is predicated on presentism. She waves away criticism of this bias in one paragraph. Then we are off to a different topic.
While this is just an example within the history portion of the book, I find the problem permeates the whole book. There is a good story (or two) in here, but Krzywonos has buried it under too much of everything else. In the end, the book feels more like a lot of axe-grinding instead of a celebration of the beauty of Antarctica and recovery from tremendous loss.
(This book was provided as an advanced reader copy by NetGalley and Atria Books.)
All of these topics are interspersed throughout the narrative and not in a way that made sense to me as a reader. We jump from history back to her earlier life, then to a time she is in Antarctica. Each of these topics feels, at best, underserved and, at worst, badly misleading. As an example, Krzywonos quickly discusses the (possible, but probably not) "discovery" of the North Pole. She focuses mostly on Matthew Henson and does her best to disparage Robert Peary. Now, there is nothing wrong with that viewpoint as I wholeheartedly agree on the whole. Henson is a much easier figure to like. However, there are books upon books looking at the race for the North Pole and Krzywonos' analysis is overly simplistic to the point of feeling misleading to me.
While a one-off like that would be an annoyance, this is not the only time the history in this book is shortchanged with a clear aim at focusing on problematic elements of polar explorers. Again, they are legion, and anyone who has read extensively on polar exploration can list them relatively easily. However, Krzywonos herself brings up that her analysis of them is predicated on presentism. She waves away criticism of this bias in one paragraph. Then we are off to a different topic.
While this is just an example within the history portion of the book, I find the problem permeates the whole book. There is a good story (or two) in here, but Krzywonos has buried it under too much of everything else. In the end, the book feels more like a lot of axe-grinding instead of a celebration of the beauty of Antarctica and recovery from tremendous loss.
(This book was provided as an advanced reader copy by NetGalley and Atria Books.)
Review of advance copy received from Author
Some books inform you; others make you feel as though a close friend is sharing the most important story of their life. The Blue Hours was very much the latter.
Stephanie’s writing is incredibly intimate. She brings Antarctica—a place most of us will only ever imagine—to life so vividly that I often felt as though I was standing on the Ice alongside her. Her descriptions are beautiful, immersive and full of wonder, but what stayed with me most was the deeply personal story at the heart of the book.
Stephanie’s account of her friendship with Soren and the grief that follows is handled with such honesty and care that I often forgot I was reading a memoir. Instead, it felt like listening to a dear friend over a couple of drinks, trusting you with the story that shaped them. It’s rare for nonfiction to feel this personal while also being so compelling.
I was also struck by how meticulously researched the book is. Stephanie effortlessly weaves together history, science and stories from Antarctic exploration with her own experiences. Every now and then I found myself wondering how some of the historical accounts connected to the main narrative, but that was only a minor point in an otherwise wonderful reading experience.
There were several lines that have stayed with me since I finished the book. “One never reaches the horizon.” What a beautiful thought. And later: “I miss Antarctica like I miss an old friend, but old friends never fully leave us.” That line felt especially moving… and true.
I also really appreciated how Stephanie places Antarctica within a broader colonial context, particularly through its connections to the Arctic. As someone who studies Arctic literature, I found those reflections especially useful.
Thank you so much to Stephanie for providing me with a digital advance copy of The Blue Hours prior to its release in December!
Stephanie’s writing is incredibly intimate. She brings Antarctica—a place most of us will only ever imagine—to life so vividly that I often felt as though I was standing on the Ice alongside her. Her descriptions are beautiful, immersive and full of wonder, but what stayed with me most was the deeply personal story at the heart of the book.
Stephanie’s account of her friendship with Soren and the grief that follows is handled with such honesty and care that I often forgot I was reading a memoir. Instead, it felt like listening to a dear friend over a couple of drinks, trusting you with the story that shaped them. It’s rare for nonfiction to feel this personal while also being so compelling.
I was also struck by how meticulously researched the book is. Stephanie effortlessly weaves together history, science and stories from Antarctic exploration with her own experiences. Every now and then I found myself wondering how some of the historical accounts connected to the main narrative, but that was only a minor point in an otherwise wonderful reading experience.
There were several lines that have stayed with me since I finished the book. “One never reaches the horizon.” What a beautiful thought. And later: “I miss Antarctica like I miss an old friend, but old friends never fully leave us.” That line felt especially moving… and true.
I also really appreciated how Stephanie places Antarctica within a broader colonial context, particularly through its connections to the Arctic. As someone who studies Arctic literature, I found those reflections especially useful.
Thank you so much to Stephanie for providing me with a digital advance copy of The Blue Hours prior to its release in December!
Review of advance copy received from Netgalley
Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for providing a free digital review copy. All opinions are my own.
This book did not deliver the experience I expected.
Much of the narrative centers on the author’s severe depression, suicidal ideations, and the emotional aftermath of losing a friend to suicide. While those themes are deeply personal and important, they ultimately overshadowed the memoir itself. Less than half of the book actually focuses on her day-to-day experiences living and working in Antarctica.
The rest felt scattered between acronyms, metaphors, polar lexicon, feminist and sexist commentary, environmental messaging and non-chronological retellings of earlier Antarctic expeditions such as the Terra Nova Expedition. There have already been countless books written about those expeditions, and if I wanted a historical account, I would have chosen one directly.
The author clearly wanted to raise awareness about humanity’s impact on Antarctica’s ecosystem, but I did not think it was done in a coherent or compelling way. I love nature and animals, but that is not why I picked up this book. I wanted to read about her firsthand experiences in Antarctica, not extended passages about whales, penguins, huskies and the many animals harmed or abandoned throughout Antarctic history.
The book also repeatedly detours into discussions of Māori beliefs, Greek mythology and the meanings of various words. While I understand the author was likely trying to add philosophical or cultural depth, these sections often felt unrelated to the memoir itself and pulled me further away from the Antarctic experience I was hoping to read about.
Overall, the memoir felt unfocused and very different from how it was marketed.
This book did not deliver the experience I expected.
Much of the narrative centers on the author’s severe depression, suicidal ideations, and the emotional aftermath of losing a friend to suicide. While those themes are deeply personal and important, they ultimately overshadowed the memoir itself. Less than half of the book actually focuses on her day-to-day experiences living and working in Antarctica.
The rest felt scattered between acronyms, metaphors, polar lexicon, feminist and sexist commentary, environmental messaging and non-chronological retellings of earlier Antarctic expeditions such as the Terra Nova Expedition. There have already been countless books written about those expeditions, and if I wanted a historical account, I would have chosen one directly.
The author clearly wanted to raise awareness about humanity’s impact on Antarctica’s ecosystem, but I did not think it was done in a coherent or compelling way. I love nature and animals, but that is not why I picked up this book. I wanted to read about her firsthand experiences in Antarctica, not extended passages about whales, penguins, huskies and the many animals harmed or abandoned throughout Antarctic history.
The book also repeatedly detours into discussions of Māori beliefs, Greek mythology and the meanings of various words. While I understand the author was likely trying to add philosophical or cultural depth, these sections often felt unrelated to the memoir itself and pulled me further away from the Antarctic experience I was hoping to read about.
Overall, the memoir felt unfocused and very different from how it was marketed.
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
I found this memoir informative, heart-breaking, and oddly inspiring. The short description of the memoir is that in trying to recover from the grief of losing a dear friend to suicide, the author spends seven summers and one winter in Antarctica. However, the book is so much more than that. She weaves a tapestry together of her loss, her experiences in Antarctica, and the history of Antarctica.
What do I mean by “woven tapestry?” She didn’t break up the history, her experiences, and her memories into separate chapters. Instead, she ties them together without needing a sharp demarcation. Her own mindset gave her empathy for the trials the early explorers experienced.
I’ve read some reviews that indicated the readers didn’t like this “woven tapestry” format. They seemed to find the history and the political issues she touched on too much. But I felt that these added depth and a greater understanding of the author, her experiences, and Antarctica itself.
Ultimately, I found her detailed accounts of living in Antarctica fascinating. I also found her experiences with such profound grief enlightening. People often think the grief-stricken should just move on, and for so many, it just doesn’t happen that way.
Recommend? Yes, if you have an interest in Antarctica, and how one woman dealt with her profound grief by making Antarctica her part-time home.
What do I mean by “woven tapestry?” She didn’t break up the history, her experiences, and her memories into separate chapters. Instead, she ties them together without needing a sharp demarcation. Her own mindset gave her empathy for the trials the early explorers experienced.
I’ve read some reviews that indicated the readers didn’t like this “woven tapestry” format. They seemed to find the history and the political issues she touched on too much. But I felt that these added depth and a greater understanding of the author, her experiences, and Antarctica itself.
Ultimately, I found her detailed accounts of living in Antarctica fascinating. I also found her experiences with such profound grief enlightening. People often think the grief-stricken should just move on, and for so many, it just doesn’t happen that way.
Recommend? Yes, if you have an interest in Antarctica, and how one woman dealt with her profound grief by making Antarctica her part-time home.
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
This book was chock full of really interesting recent info about working at McMurdo Station in Antarctica and historical info about past explorers in The Heroic Age. The author had obviously done a ton of research on history, various aspects of exploration, climate change and the seasonal challenges of getting to and living in Antarctica.
The parts of the book that didn’t work so well for me were when the author suddenly segued to memories from her college years during which her best friend committed suicide. She had lingering grief as well as guilt about whether she had been somewhat responsible for his decision to commit suicide. I understand that these episodes were part of “The Blue Hours” and that this trauma was part of the reason she chose to go to Antarctica in her quest for self-discovery. However, that part of the narrative was not logically or seamlessly integrated into the Antarctica experience. It was actually quite jarring at times when she flipped back into that era.
It’s a very ambitious memoir which I found quite informative regarding both the history of Antarctica experience and the current conditions and challenges.
The parts of the book that didn’t work so well for me were when the author suddenly segued to memories from her college years during which her best friend committed suicide. She had lingering grief as well as guilt about whether she had been somewhat responsible for his decision to commit suicide. I understand that these episodes were part of “The Blue Hours” and that this trauma was part of the reason she chose to go to Antarctica in her quest for self-discovery. However, that part of the narrative was not logically or seamlessly integrated into the Antarctica experience. It was actually quite jarring at times when she flipped back into that era.
It’s a very ambitious memoir which I found quite informative regarding both the history of Antarctica experience and the current conditions and challenges.
Review of advance copy received from Netgalley
Thank you to Netgalley for this ARC!
When I read about this book I was very excited to read it. I lived the idea of reading about a woman finding herself in Antarctica. I love learning while I read so I was looking forward to that as well. However, the actual project is a hodge podge of indecipherable meaning. Yes, the author is trying to heal and find her path after losing her best friend to suicide. However, the memoir does not follow only that line. We deal with the author's depression, how she feels she is treated poorly because of her gender and race, how she doesnt know what she wants to do with her life, and so much more. Maybe I just couldn't connect with these themes even though I am a woman- but it felt like a blanket was being thrown out to try to cover all big ticket themes. These themes also included climate change, endangered species, pollution and SO much random research I felt I was reading a textbook at some points. The author used some beautiful language, but the book is just too all over the place for my liking.
When I read about this book I was very excited to read it. I lived the idea of reading about a woman finding herself in Antarctica. I love learning while I read so I was looking forward to that as well. However, the actual project is a hodge podge of indecipherable meaning. Yes, the author is trying to heal and find her path after losing her best friend to suicide. However, the memoir does not follow only that line. We deal with the author's depression, how she feels she is treated poorly because of her gender and race, how she doesnt know what she wants to do with her life, and so much more. Maybe I just couldn't connect with these themes even though I am a woman- but it felt like a blanket was being thrown out to try to cover all big ticket themes. These themes also included climate change, endangered species, pollution and SO much random research I felt I was reading a textbook at some points. The author used some beautiful language, but the book is just too all over the place for my liking.
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
I really wanted to like this because the premise sounded so interesting and I wanted to learn about Antarctica. However, it tried to do way too much and it was so hard to pick out the good stuff.
I wish the book could have been an account of the author's time in Antarctica interspersed with the context of her grief over her friend plus a little bit of insight on how these things affected her worldview, and sure, some penguin facts too. What it was instead was the above plus the history of a bunch of polar explorers who I couldn't keep straight, every geo-political treaty and organization, random mythology, and every single thought or mediation the author has ever had in no particular order-- all while trying to solve racism and sexism and climate change. Yes, all these things are important and deserving of attention but the readability of this book would have benefited from some tightening of the scope.
Thanks to NetGalley and the author and the publisher for the opportunity to read this ARC.
I wish the book could have been an account of the author's time in Antarctica interspersed with the context of her grief over her friend plus a little bit of insight on how these things affected her worldview, and sure, some penguin facts too. What it was instead was the above plus the history of a bunch of polar explorers who I couldn't keep straight, every geo-political treaty and organization, random mythology, and every single thought or mediation the author has ever had in no particular order-- all while trying to solve racism and sexism and climate change. Yes, all these things are important and deserving of attention but the readability of this book would have benefited from some tightening of the scope.
Thanks to NetGalley and the author and the publisher for the opportunity to read this ARC.
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
I received this book from NetGalley to read and write a review. I did see others not like it, but I personally kind of like this it was laid out they book with her Antarctica parts and her other life experiences. I feel Stephanie did a wonderful job showing the reader what it can be like in Antarctica. I personally really liked the parts that showed her job there and what it was like for a woman. One part that stood out to me was how hard wintering was. I really also am a big science nerd so getting all those parts and learning more was interesting to me and kept me engaged. This novel covered some very hard topics and I think Stephanie did it justice and I could see how parts of it and writing may have helped heal her. I could tell when reading how much research went into this book. I will say I personally liked that we would hop around as a reader from her trips and to past experiences she had.
June 15, 2026
The Blue Hours details the authors several summers and one winter in Antarctica at McMurdo Station. Stephanie ends up there following the death of a friend that’s she’s having trouble coming to terms with. Antarctica seems a good way of escape, to find herself and make peace. Her Antarctic story is intertwined with reminiscing of her friend Soren. If this was the entire story, I would have loved it. However, she also brings in several stories of polar exploration. I personally find Antarctic subject matter extremely interesting. I’ve been to Antarctica, I’ve read several books on Antarctica exploration. But adding the exploration aspect to this book seemed to muddy the waters- there was just too much going on. For that reason, I can only give it 3 stars.
Thank you to NetGalley, the publisher and the author for access to this ARC.
Thank you to NetGalley, the publisher and the author for access to this ARC.
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
Trigger warning: mentions of suicide
I thoroughly enjoyed this poetic, moving, adventurous, lyrical, and mythological memoir. Stephanie is a talented writer who conveys her experiences with sharp, piercing, reflective, deeply honest prose. Many reviews mention the disjointed nature of the book, but I quite loved how Stephanie blended her personal adventures with the stories of Antarctic explorers from the Heroic Age. I especially appreciated her discussions of colonialism, and her insistence that we take a feminist and indigenous perspective as we work to safeguard Antarctica’s future and the future of our planet. I found her storytelling rich and informative, and her message that we see Antarctica (and the whole of planet Earth) as “not a personal proving ground, but a living place with agency” deeply needed in these times.
I thoroughly enjoyed this poetic, moving, adventurous, lyrical, and mythological memoir. Stephanie is a talented writer who conveys her experiences with sharp, piercing, reflective, deeply honest prose. Many reviews mention the disjointed nature of the book, but I quite loved how Stephanie blended her personal adventures with the stories of Antarctic explorers from the Heroic Age. I especially appreciated her discussions of colonialism, and her insistence that we take a feminist and indigenous perspective as we work to safeguard Antarctica’s future and the future of our planet. I found her storytelling rich and informative, and her message that we see Antarctica (and the whole of planet Earth) as “not a personal proving ground, but a living place with agency” deeply needed in these times.
July 12, 2026
The Blue Hours focuses on the author's time working in Antarctica and her motivations for doing so, along with the history of previous Antarctic expeditions and developments. The author is obviously very passionate and has beautiful writing.
Krzywonos touches on many topics throughout the book: astronomy, mythology, anthropology, etymology, religion/spirituality, art history and technique, psychology, philosophy, knowledge and culture from many different Indigenous groups, and more. This is all on top of lots of names and the expected discussions of climatology, the evolution of racism, sexism, and homophobia in the scientific field, etc. I think this variety is both a strength and a weakness; a lot of the information is so deeply interesting, but the delivery often ends up feeling tangential and I struggled to stay engaged. Some brevity would make certain statements or stories more impactful and enjoyable.
I was very intrigued by how affected many people are during and after their time in the Antarctic. There are several physical or mental conditions one can develop in the unique conditions, and the return home can be challenging. The continent is incredibly isolated, but those working there live in very close quarters. The author reflected on how loud the city sounds were after being away for months and how much longer her commute and errands took.
This was really touching and interesting, I think it just needs to be more streamlined and/or organized. Thank you to NetGalley, the author, and the publisher for the opportunity to read!
Krzywonos touches on many topics throughout the book: astronomy, mythology, anthropology, etymology, religion/spirituality, art history and technique, psychology, philosophy, knowledge and culture from many different Indigenous groups, and more. This is all on top of lots of names and the expected discussions of climatology, the evolution of racism, sexism, and homophobia in the scientific field, etc. I think this variety is both a strength and a weakness; a lot of the information is so deeply interesting, but the delivery often ends up feeling tangential and I struggled to stay engaged. Some brevity would make certain statements or stories more impactful and enjoyable.
I was very intrigued by how affected many people are during and after their time in the Antarctic. There are several physical or mental conditions one can develop in the unique conditions, and the return home can be challenging. The continent is incredibly isolated, but those working there live in very close quarters. The author reflected on how loud the city sounds were after being away for months and how much longer her commute and errands took.
This was really touching and interesting, I think it just needs to be more streamlined and/or organized. Thank you to NetGalley, the author, and the publisher for the opportunity to read!
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
This is such a beautiful memoir. I really had to sit and think about it after finishing.
We follow the author as she works for several years at McMurdo station in Antarctica, where we meet penguins, seals, familiar and unfamiliar explorers, like the first Black and women explorers to set foot on the continent. If you're a fan of "Wild" or like arctic history books like "The Terror," you'd enjoy this too.
A thoughtful exploration of grief and adventure.
We follow the author as she works for several years at McMurdo station in Antarctica, where we meet penguins, seals, familiar and unfamiliar explorers, like the first Black and women explorers to set foot on the continent. If you're a fan of "Wild" or like arctic history books like "The Terror," you'd enjoy this too.
A thoughtful exploration of grief and adventure.
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for this ARC electronic book. Another hit and miss for me. I was hoping for so much more about the authors experience while living I n Antarctica. While there was some enlightening information about life there, I found the unexpected jumps to past South Pole explorations and also to her college life with a friend’s depression and then suicide to be misplaced. I think organized a little differently I would have been able to finish.
Review of advance copy received from Publisher
Such a fascinating, beautiful read! I love the additional history and context alongside the adventures and meditative stories.
Displaying 1 - 14 of 14 reviews