Seasons of Light and Dark FAQ & Backstory
Backstory
Q. Why did you write this book?
A. To tell the story of medical practice in the 1970s in backwater Alaska in the context of the beauty of the tundra and its people.
Q. How did you learn about medical practice in Alaska?
A. During the Vietnam War, male physicians were subject to the “doctor draft” so my husband was required to serve. Originally he was assigned to the US Navy in San Diego, but was able to change his commission to the Public Health Service. After living on an Indial Reservation on the Nevada/Idaho border for two years, he requested transfer to Alaka, which was happily granted. We lived in one of the four-plexes on the Bethel Hospital grounds.
Q. Did you work in Bethel?
A. Yes, I worked for the then brand-new Yukon-Kuskokwim Health Corporation, which at that time focused on health aide education and mental health services. My job was to train the village health aides in simple physical examination techniques and how to communicate their finding by radio to the doctors in Bether. I found the health aides to be amazingly eager and talented learners.
Q. What was your favorite thing about living in Bethel?
A. So many things: the stark splendor of the expansive land and sky, the resilience and kindness of the native people, the camaraderie of the other gussuk (non-native people) who worked at the hospital.
Q. What was your least favorite thing about living in Bethel?
A. A majot challenge was the high price of everything we bought there, which was very understandable considering what it took to get the merchandise from Anchorage or Seattle to sleepy Bethel. Also, I wasn’t a fan of the native food, because it was so different from what I was used to.
FAQ
Q. Where is Bethel?
A. Bethel is located in southwestern Alaska, about half way between Nome and the Aleutian peninsula, and about 70 miles up the Kuskokwim River from the Bering Sea.
Q. What medical illnesses plague the native people of Bethel?
A: Many of the same illnesses that plague people everywhere also plague the Yup’ik: heart disease, cancer, high blood pressure, diabetes, substance use disorder, and mental illness. In addition they have unique health challenges, including lower life expectancy and higher infant mortality rates, compared to other Americans largely because of their geographic isolation. Trauma, such as hypothermia, drowning, snowmobile crashes, are particularly high among Alaskans, as is suicide. Children are at higher risk of otitis media, ie middle ear infections. They are only moderately well-vaccinated so they experience vaccine-preventable diseases at a somewhat higher rate than other Amaericans. For unknown reasons, before vaccines were available against the bacteria that cause meningitis, native Alaskan children had a higher incidence of meningitis, and it tended to occur at younger ages.
Q: What is the native Alaskan diet like?
A. Many native Alaskans, particularly those living in the small villages served by the hospital at Bethel, maintain a subsistence lifestyle and basically live off the land as they have for generations. They eat both freshwater and seawater fish, such as salmon, blackfish, sheefish, whitefish, as well as ducks and land-mammals, including caribou, elk, and moose. These meats are eaten after drying, fermenting, or cooking. In addition, they harvest the many berries that grow on the tundra and preserve them in seal oil, and gather eggs from the local birds, greens, and roots. Their diet is very well-balanced and optimal for their way of living. With increased exposure to Western culture, native Alaskans in southwestern Alaska, particularly those living in Bethel, which has a general store with groceries, eat more and more Western foods, although they are very expensive.
Q: What are the religious beliefs of the people of Bethel?
A. With Russian occupation of Alaska in mid-18th century, the Russian Orthodox Church established ministried throughout Alaska, and many Russian Orthodox churchs and congregations remain. Roman Catholic and Moravian missionaries also established missions throughout Alaska, and many other Protestant faiths are currently present. The native Alaskans hold on to their native, nature-loving spirituality while attending Western or Orthodox churches.