Compass Lines: Journeys Toward Home

by John Messick

In essays that traverse latitudes and continents, John Messick's Compass Lines explores the paths we take toward belonging. Here, broken vehicles mark the porous boundaries between built and natural worlds. Deserted backpacks trace immigration routes along the US-Mexico border. A job fighting wildfire near a ghost town reveals the dangers of a life spent wandering. Slowly, as Messick learns the rhythms of seasons-through wing prints on snow, cupboard shelves stocked for winter, and quiet moments before the birth of his son-he discovers that a connection with the places we inhabit requires both movement and stillness.

From Antarctica to the Arctic, a Cambodia tattoo parlor to the Florida swamps, and from childhood to fatherhood, this deeply felt debut invites readers on a search for the most elusive landscape of all-home.

Genres: Nonfiction

227 pages, Kindle Edition

Published March 14, 2023

Reviews

[Laura Hoffman Brauman · Rating 4 out of 5]

"But you should never plan for what you go into the wilderness to learn, because you never find precisely what you set out to discover."

In Compass Lines, Messick has crafted a series of essays that speak to connection and the way divergent paths might take us towards what ultimately we connect to as home. Messick spent much of his life traveling and doing seasonal work that took him from his childhood in Wisconsin to bicycling through Syria, traveling in Cambodia, canoeing in the Everglades - and later canoeing in the Arctic, working along the US-Mexico border, fighting wildfires, and then ultimately making a home in Alaska. One of the reviews I read described it as introspection meets adventure - and that fits better than something I can come up with on my own. Part memoir, part travel writing, one of the standout characteristics of Messick's writing and reflection is his ability to speak to what something was like at the time he experienced it and simultaneously reflect on how he views that same experience now. The essays in here cover roughly 10 years or so and you see how Messick grows throughout the time - not just in how he views his experiences, but also in what he values. I picked up this essay collection while traveling in Alaska and am so glad I did. When you're on the road, visit the bookstores - you never know what gems you will find that help you connect to a place long after you've put your suitcase away.

[Greyson · Rating 4 out of 5]

This collection of essays from KPC professor John Messick loosely situates itself at the intersection of adventure and introspection. Each has something to say about the author becoming himself, from seasonal work in the Antarctic, to a bicycle tour through Damascus, three summers spent fighting wildfire, and ultimately a short stint in the Wrangells while on the doorstep of becoming a father.

The reader pieces together the chronology through loose associations between essays; most of the "major" or at least international adventure occurs prior to the 2013 wildfire season. The Yarnell Hill tragedy marks a clear shift in perspective, and his more recent essays reflect mostly on the flow of daily life here on the Peninsula and Alaska more broadly.

In short the book is part travelogue and part "growing up", learning how to look outside his own head and be deliberate about how he wants to live his life.

Every piece here is well written, but his meditation on modern day non-subsistence hunting and trapping in "Other Bloods" is truly great.

[Whoopie John · Rating 5 out of 5]

Messick has penned a thoughtful and sincere stroll through reflections on a life lived adventurously. It's a pleasure to watch over his shoulder as he takes on a series of challenges at times hilarious, heartfelt, and gut wrenching from every corner of the world. Messick's internal monologue sometimes comes across as quite harsh and self-flagellating, yet its clear its not performative; this person really wants to learn from experience and become better. We could all use more of that kind of exercise in our lives.

[Kathy Balcom · Rating 2 out of 5]

I am slogging my way through this book, having read half of it. This book should be in the “coming of age” section. Otherwise, readers like me who are accustomed to reading polished works, whether they be essays, novels, or other types, will find this book disjointed, rambling, and difficult to get through. I have stuck it out this long only because I paid full price at a local bookstore and an author I really like said this book was great. Obviously that author and I have different tastes or he didn’t read the book.

[Sherri · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this collection. Each essay is engaging and thoughtful and makes you want to travel...only to go, oh no, why do I want to travel? What's under my sense of place? As someone who likes to disappear into the woods, this collection posed many questions that resonated with me.

While each essay felt complete, I would also be happy to read full-length books of almost all of these essays, perhaps the highest praise I can give an essay collection.

[Lulu Anechiarico · Rating 5 out of 5]

I understand this man. Well written. Thoughtful. He’s been to the ends of the earth. It changes you.

[Jessica Klagmann · Rating 5 out of 5]

These essays took me by surprise with how much distance they covered, both geographically and emotionally. Messick manages to blend travel journal, self-exploration essay, and environmental dialogue seamlessly. A striking, highly recommended collection.