Every now and again a read a book that touches my soul and this is one of those books.
The Blue Bear by Lynn Schooler
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/167116.The_Blue_Bear
I stumbled across the book by accident having a different book of Lynn Schooler's (Walking Home) recommended to me on a different forum and then following on from that with "The Blue Bear".
I'd never heard of the author before, nor of any of his books, but his writing is eloquent and detailed and I find myself a little jealous of his ability to describe every day activity in such a way that couldn't possibly be from memory and leaves you feeling that it must have been written at the exact time the events took place.
The story is both heartbreaking and heartwarming in equal measure, describing the building of friendship over a series of trips taken around the Alaskan pan handle in search of the elusive blue bear (or Glacier Bear as it is also known).
If you find yourself with the need to try to make some sense out of both the tragedy and joy of life in a way that is perhaps spiritual rather than religious then I recommend this book.
