North of Familiar: A Woman's Story of Homesteading and Adventure in the Canadian Wilderness

by Terry Milos

In 1974, Terry Milos moved to rural northern Canada, to pursue her dream of homesteading. Following the seventies trend of the back-to-landers she and her partner left the city life for what they imagined would be a simpler existence. Sometimes humorous and often insightful, North of Familiar is the story of a woman who learned to hunt, fish, and live off the land in what most would consider an utterly hostile and unbelievably cold environment.

After a few months of cobbling together a living, Terry reluctantly leaves the north to further her education but with a dream of returning as a teacher. A year later Terry accepts a job in the small town of Atlin where she grows to expect the unexpected. Terry’s adventures in the north push her beyond the familiar as she tries to apply her street savvy skills to negotiate a desolate mountain trail, or mush her dogs to school when the deep cold renders her car useless. But there are also times when unfamiliar becomes pure fear, such as when the pilot of a bush plane on which she is the only passenger falls asleep, sending the plane on a downward descent, or when a strange man is repeatedly seen lurking in the woods by Terry’s cabin after a trapper mysteriously goes missing.

North of Familiar is about coming to grips with life in the bush far away from the luxuries of the city. In Carcross, Carmacks, Dawson City and Old Crow, Terry navigates the cultural differences between her urban upbringing and the communities of Canada’s Indigenous north. In spite of the harsh country, Terry survives and thrives, while raising a family and becoming a part of a strong and unique community. This story is not only entertaining and inspiring, it is also a story of joy, friendship, and change.

NORTH OF FAMILIAR is a BC Bestseller and won the 2018 Bronze Medal in the Canada-West, Best Non-Fiction by IPPY, Independent Publisher Book Awards, an annual book awards contest conducted to honor the year's best independently published titles from around the world!

Genres: Nonfiction

208 pages, Paperback

Published June 15, 2017

About the author

Terry Milos was born and raised in Florida and moved to California to attend university. On a hike one day she met an outdoor enthusiast from Alaska who became her husband. They married a year later and moved to northern Canada where they bought property on Little Atlin Lake in the Yukon Territory. For nineteen years, she raised a family and taught school in many remote Canadian communities. North of Familiar: A Woman’s Story of Homesteading and Adventure in the Canadian Wilderness is her first book.

Reviews

[Lester · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great adventure..life safari!!!
Thankx Terry for sharing your family story.
Pretty much every day living here in the territory..I say 'I live here!'..still after 36 years!
Waiting for you to come for an author reading in Tagish...waiting...
Thankx again for the grand trip through your stories.
(Lesli)

[Lesley · Rating 4 out of 5]

Milos relates her life 'up north' with the genuineness and easy going voice of a friend you're sitting around a campfire with. I enjoyed this very much and loved remembering all the places that my husband and I went to that she mentions.

[Lois · Rating 4 out of 5]

The author painted an authentic picture of the characters and environment of Yukon Territory. I totally relived my few summer months with Carmen in the late 70s-early 80s. I don't think I ever met Terry Milos:(
I shared this book with my Green Valley, Arizona book group - they loved it and we had a great discussion.

[Janet · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a great read! Terry Milos started her great adventure into the wild of British Columbia as the same time as my husband and I were adventuring in the tropics. I enjoyed her descriptions of both the good times and the experiences that were absolutely dangerous. With some slight variations in temperature, our stories are similar!

[Joel · Rating 4 out of 5]

A young woman from Florida marries, moves to very northern (Yukon) Canada, works in education & other jobs. Amid spectacular nature, she brushes with death many times from extreme cold, risky float-plane flights, bears, dangerous waters, and more. For 19 years, survives, appreciates local cultures, learns, socializes, produces craft work — and, with her husband, raises two boys. Bravo for her!

[Tracee · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed reading this lady’s adventures in the Canadian north

[Penny · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interesting to me right now as I visit my daughter in Whitehorse as I’m seeing many of the places described in this memoir

[Julia Jenne · Rating 4 out of 5]

A very wholesome read

[Susan · Rating 3 out of 5]

I enjoyed the adventures of the North and learning about the lifestyle. I felt that the writing was a little basic but still enjoyed the book a lot.

[Jess Vargas · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really wanted to be able to give it 5 stars but I found it focused on homesteading about 40% of the time and the other 60 was drunken parties and dares and bets and partying and more parties. It wasn’t exactly what it promoted on the cover. And then at the end she ended up leaving her husband Stan who she went on this whole adventure with. A bit disappointing in that regard. But it did give a good picture of life in that climate, and I enjoyed reading about how the culture is different in Northern Canada. Like the spontaneous road parties. Or the ways Indigenous communities intersected peacefully with other communities and were very welcoming and hospitable.

[Zora · Rating 3 out of 5]

3,5/5