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A Remarkable Journey from the Heartland of America to the Heart of a Dream |
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| Editorial Reviews and General Reader Comments |
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It's a long way from a hillside in Arkansas to Squalicum Harbor. But the 47-foot Red Dog chugged into Bellingham Tuesday evening with its lone passenger, skipper Melvin Owens aboard.---Sunday Herald , Bellingham, Washington, July 29, 1973. |
Although the launching had not been announced, a crowd of approximately 65 persons gathered at the landing. The crowd cheered when the boat hit the water and men rushed to help with the ropes. ---Southwest Times Record, Fort Smith, Arkansas, September 28, 1971.
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"An amazing and inspirational tale..."
Midwest
Book Review "Rarely do I find a book so compelling that I can't put it down until I've reached the very last word. But the quixotically titled "South to Alaska," by Nancy Owens Barnes, is that rare book ... It is the author's skill that makes this more than a travelogue ... Barnes has a knack for stringing words together to form crystal-clear pictures, and she does it with poetic grace. This is a book of adventure, but also a loving tribute to a man who had the courage of his convictions, the strength to make a choice and the audacity to follow the road less traveled. Owens, although born far from Alaska, typifies Alaskans. He saw a frontier and ached to explore it, and even though it took 50 years for him to arrive, once he did he fit right in. Our world is richer for his journey."
Libbie
Martin, Book Reviewer "What is it about the indomitability of the human spirit that
propels some in pursuit of their dreams despite all odds? I don't
have a ready answer to that question but I do know that upon reading
South to Alaska...I was touched deeply and moved by
the spirit of one such man; and by his daughter's telling of his
story." "Like most of us, Melvin Owens dreamed as a youngster of being part of his own great story. But where most of us leave our childhood fantasies behind, Owens made his dream come true in a way that even Huck Finn would have admired."
Dan Webster
Leila
Kheiry "Melvin's dream, told so well by his daughter, speaks of this couple's courage and need to step beyond, to find peace and fulfillment, while carving out a life in a new frontier."
Bill Parlatore,
Editor-in-Chief "Author Nancy Owens Barnes is an able harbormaster, masterfully retelling her father's journey from landlocked Oklahoma and Arkansas to the wild Alaskan shore."
Nancy
Steel, Special Sections Editor "Told with grit, like her father's journey. Through illness, loneliness, storms, even thievery and threats of jail from Mexican authorities, the tale will keep one riveted to Alaska."
Bryan
Martin "...a riveting tale, in the tradition of the best seafaring yarns. ...a story that needed to be told."
Jennifer Lamont Leo
Holly Chase Williams "Very moving story of an American dream that was never forgotten and eventually realized. A well-written, very enjoyable book."
A reader from Lakeland, Florida "I started reading South to Alaska and couldn't put it down. I just wanted you to know how much I enjoyed your book and how powerfully your Dad's experiences impressed me." A personal note from a reader in Tucson, Arizona
Gus Hill, North Carolina
Joel Ward, Little Rock, Arkansas |
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Available
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Copyright 2007
Rushing River Press |