How does a man save his own life? In 1908 Dr. Wilfred Grenfell, a medical missionary in northern Newfoundland, was traveling by dog team to treat a patient. In his haste Grenfell took a short cut across the sea ice. A change of wind and ice conditions left the doctor and his sled dogs stranded on an ice pan, their komatik and provisions lost. Grenfell came close to perishing.

Adrift on an Ice Pan is Grenfell’s own account of this near-fatal misadventure. He survived dauntingly cold and seemingly hopeless conditions through an inventive presence of mind and by sacrificing and skinning three of his sled dogs to clothe himself against the elements. Because of his tenacity and quick thinking and that of his rescuers, Grenfell endured.

If you like arctic or outdoor adventure stories or are on the look out for winter survival tips you'll enjoy the blow by blow of Grenfell's tale.

To the memory of Grenfell’s rescuers George Davis, George Andrews, George Reid and Mr. Reid’s two sons. And to Moodie, Watch and Spy whose lives were given for Grenfell’s April 21, 1908.

This audiobook was recorded and produced by Chris Brookes
Read by the following (in order of duration):
Chris Brookes as Wilfred Grenfell
Jay Roberts as George Andrews
Janis Spence additional narration and acting direction

The following hymns were selected and performed by Christina Smith (violin): Welcome Happy Morning words Fortunatus (6th c.) translated Rev. John Ellerton, tune Hermas • Eternal Father Strong to Save (peril on the sea) words William Whiting 1860, tune Melita • From Every Stormy Wind That Blows words Canon Hugh Stowell 1828, tune Retreat • Glory to Thee Who Safe Hast Kept words Bishop Thos. Ken 1692, music Thomas Tallis c. 1567 • Fling Out the Banner words Bishop G.W. Doane 1848, tune Truro • Rescue the Perishing words Francis J. van Alstyne 1870, tune Rescue • My God my Father While I Stray words Charlotte Elliott 1834, tune Herbert • Be Thou my Vision words ancient Irish, trans. Mary Byrne, tune Irish traditional • Not all the Blood of Beasts (The Heavenly Lamb) Isaac Watts, n.d. tune Ben Rhydding • Safe Home Joseph the Hymnographer, 9th cent. free tr. by John Mason Neale, 1818 - 66. music by Sir Arthur Sullivan

Read by the following (in order of duration):
Chris Brookes as Wilfred Grenfell
Jay Roberts as George Andrews
Janis Spence additional narration


Audio Book Reviews:

From AudioFile Magazine:

Brookes is excellent as the philosophical and quick-thinking Grenfell, who believes he is facing certain death. The mournful notes of various hymns that intersperse the narrative enhance the atmosphere of hopelessness.

From AUDIOWORLD:

I don't hate snow. I hate ICE. I got major chills listening to the ultimate audio book of survival in the winter, Adrift on an Ice pan. Chris Brooke’s first person narrative as Dr. Wilfred Grenfell astonishes in this recounting of the doctor's harrowing ordeal. The audio reminds me of Jack London's Call of the Wild. This project, only a little over an hour, is wonderful and surreal because it is true. Wonderful listening.

From Robin McGrath, Northeast Avalon Times:

I’m not sure exactly what it is about this story that makes it so compelling, but it retains its hold on the imagination to this day. There is the obvious drama of the do-good doctor imperiled in the course of his duty; there is the appeal of the dogs, brave dumb beasts who trust their master even as he cuts their throats; there is the Robinson Crusoe detail of making-do with what is at hand in an emergency. But it goes beyond that.

The story-telling technique is akin to the Perils of Pauline. Grenfell manages to rig up a harness but “alas” it isn’t long enough. He finds a slightly larger pan on which to take refuge, but “unfortunately” he can’t get the dogs to go to it. Each time, he uses his ingenuity to hang on another hour, but alas and unfortunately, each time is thwarted by merciless nature. But he never gives up.

It is probably no coincidence that 1908 was the year Ralph Connor’s first volume of fiction was published. Connor, a proponent of Muscular Christianity, wrote stories in which physical courage was matched by moral courage and Christian principles always won in the end. It may sound stuffy, but it wasn’t—to this day I can recall the wild ride through the woods of The Man From Glengarry, as vividly as I remember the Headless Horseman in pursuit of Ichabod Crane in the Legend of Sleepy Hollow.

All of which is intended to convince you that Adrift on an Icepan is no dull Christian tract but a ripping good adventure that will hold the attention of people of all ages and genders.

Viewers of Varrick Frisell’s film The Viking, which was released on video a few years back, will recall that Wilfred Grenfell has a high, somewhat weak voice. Janis Spence has taken this straw and spun it into gold. Chris Brookes’ thready pipes and somewhat English intonations are perfect for Grenfell, but by adopting an intimate, slightly tongue-in-cheek modulation, he catches the magic that made the doctor one of the most sought-after lecturers in North America. You feel like you are holed up in a tilt or an igloo on a nasty night, with this fascinating man murmuring his story into your ear.

A century ago, the addendum by George Andrews, “rendered into an approximation of northern Newfoundland dialect” as Ron Rompkey put it, might have seemed just a quaint confirmation of Grenfell’s courage. Today, it reads a bit differently. You don’t need to be a mental genius to realize that accidentally falling into a dangerous situation, as happened to Grenfell, is somewhat different from deliberately putting yourself into potential harm as his rescuers did.

Obviously, the real hero wasn’t the doctor who worked to save his own life but the man like Andrews who imperiled his life to save another. And while Jay Roberts doesn’t work to put an ironic spin on his reading, the fact that Grenfell rewarded his rescuers with framed photographs of himself speaks volumes.

The acting, the music, the beautiful cover design by John Andrews, the excellent quality of the sound, all combine in a classic recording of a classic tale, proof if it were needed that Newfoundland can produce world-class works of literary and technological merit.

I can confidently recommend this audio as a nostalgia or historic icon, but that would be selling it short. Grenfell might have had his weaknesses and faults, but Rattling Books’ Adrift on an Icepan is a timely reminder that he was a dynamite storyteller who could twist and manipulate his listeners with the best of them. Ten decades later, he can still work the magic.


Adrift on an Ice Pan by Wilfred Grenfell is another EarLit audio book title from Rattling Books, Newfoundland publisher of Canadian unabridged audiobooks ( aka audio books ) for the world.

Listen, a way to read more.