Snapshots of Grenfell is a two-part book. Part I is a tribute to the life and work of Wilfred Grenfell by a close friend and co-worker, J. T. Richards. Richards first met Grenfell in 1892, on the Labrador Coast, and was captivated by his energy, spirituality and desire to serve the poor. Grenfell was a medical doctor and missionary of the Mission to Deep Sea Fishers, and quickly established a relationship with the people and built the Grenfell Mission that continues to exist today, The International Grenfell Association. Richards' tribute was written a few months after Grenfell's death on October 9, 1940. Part II is a long poem by Richards, written just after hearing from Grenfell the story of his narrow escape in 1908, when he was trapped overnight on an ice pan in Northern Newfoundland. Grenfell's Monologue on the Ice Pan is written in free verse, in which the author imagines Grenfell musing about the meaning of life and courageously overcoming the odds of survival.