Published 3rd February 2022 by Allen and Unwin.
From the cover of the book:
One woman's story as an outsider in a reindeer-herding village in the Arctic Tundra, forging a life on her own in 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.
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When a DNA test revealed to Laura Galloway that she might be related to the enigmatic indigenous Sámi people of the Arctic tundra, she was fascinated to think that her ancestors may have hailed from such an intriguing place. Keen to know more about the Sámi, Laura travelled to the far reaches of northern Europe from her New York home, and met a traditional reindeer herder called Áilu who she felt an immediate connection with, despite the fact that he could only speak a few words of English. It was a meeting that was destined to change the course of her life.
Unhappy with her her life in New York, and scarred from difficult family dynamics and a broken marriage, Laura was longing for a new start, so when Áilu asked her to move in with him she decided to take the plunge. She packed up her two rescue cats and headed to new life in Kautokeino, high in the Norwegian Arctic, full of romantic ideas of life among the Sámi. But Laura found it difficult to settle in this remote village, and struggles with learning the tricky Sámi language led to misunderstandings and a feeling of isolation.
When Áilu decided to end their relationship after only six months, Laura was shocked and confused. Unsure about what to do, she made the brave decision to stay on living in Kautokeino - and this is her story...
Dálvi is the account of Laura Galloway's life among the little understood Sámi people of the Arctic tundra, full of fascinating detail about the landscape, culture, heritage and characters of the community she found herself living in, but it is also a heart-warming tale of her own inner journey to come to terms with her difficult upbringing, challenging family relationships, and private unhappiness.
The book follows two threads as Galloway tells us what happened to her from the time she set foot in the Arctic, through the six years she spent among the Sámi people and sharing all that she found out about living in such a remote indigenous community; and sheds light on what brought her to this place with an account of her personal history through the story of her upbringing, family dynamics and disastrous marriage - until all the threads collide in the present, encompassing everything she has learned and the way she draws on her experiences to reconcile all that has happened to her.
Galloway lost her mother at the age of three, and following her father's remarriage to a woman who brought a lot of emotional baggage to the relationship, she saw her family fracture and spent years treading on eggshells with a unstable step-mother. This developed a feeling in Galloway that she was unwanted and never really had a true home, feeding into her wanderlust in an attempt to find a place where she could belong. After training as a journalist and living on the West and East coasts of America, giving marriage a try, and feeling frustrated with her career, Galloway was reduced to a shell of a person, finding solace in the company of her two rescue cats. She was was looking for a whole new start, so when the glimmer of a life far away among her possible ancestors came her way it's little surprise that she grabbed it with both hands.
But of course, nothing is easy in life, and after six months her Arctic dream seemed to come crashing down around her ears. As Galloway takes us through the time she lived among the Sámi, this is where her true character begins to shine through. Her struggles with the language and negotiating a culture that was so alien to her own are heartrending at times, but I loved that she found her way, made enduring friendships, and learned a lot about herself at the same time. It is through this tough time that Galloway has discovered how to put her whole life in perspective, even her complex and dysfunctional family, and has ended up in a much better place.
This was such an interesting book, full of the kind of detail you can only get from living among a tight-knit and little understood community, and it really shines a light on the way of life of a traditional people in an engaging way. Galloway's love for the landscape, people, culture and animals of the Tundra shines thorough in these pages. But it is also an honest and emotional tale of a woman that found a way to lay her ghosts to rest. and finally achieved a sense of belonging. so she can now can look to the future with love and hope.
Dálvi is available to buy now in hardcover, ebook and audio formats from your favourite book retailer.
Thank you to Allen and Unwin for sending me a copy of this book in return for an honest review, and to Midas PR for inviting me to be part of this blog tour.
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