Perseverance: Life and Death in the Subarctic

An adventurer, firefighter, and jiu-jitsu practitioner embarks on a journey of a lifetime—a 1,000 mile voyage through the Canadian sub-arctic—after recovering from a life-threatening illness.

The Canadian North is a vast and lonely land where bears roam free, fires rage unchecked, and storms blast every living thing on the tundra. When Stephan Kesting, already no stranger to pushing his own physical limits, was faced with a rare illness, he knew the only way for him to recover in both body and mind was to dig even deeper. Despite the dangers inherent in the sub-arctic, Kesting sets out on an unimaginably difficult journey. Completely alone in the wilderness for six weeks, where a single mistake could cost his life, Kesting followed in the footsteps of the native peoples and earliest explorers. In this deepest solitude and wracked with self-doubt, he found the strength to endure.

Perseverance is the moving and nail-biting account of his journey from near-death to a raw embrace of adventure and life. Inspirational, vulnerable and honest, Kesting shares the lessons he learned in the wilderness that will help us hold onto hope in our darkest moments and show how we can find the strength to overcome any obstacle.

Stephan Kesting is an adventurer, jiu-jitsu practitioner, and a firefighter. He has traversed the Canadian North for over forty years, both on his own and as a guide.  He has a Masters degree in biology from McGill University, which has informed and deepened his appreciation of the natural world. As a firefighter for over twenty-five years, Stephan has been commended for his courage, being awarded the Canadian National Medal for Bravery. He has been published in canoeing anthologies, is the author of several jiu-jitsu instructional books, and has written thousands of online and magazine articles in the martial arts and outdoor adventure space.  Follow Stephan on YouTube, TikTok, Instagram, Threads, or via his popular podcast The Strenuous Life with Stephan Kesting. He lives in British Columbia with his family.