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For additional information on
South to Alaska, visit the book's website at www.southtoalaska.com.

Book Description

Born in the dusty heart of Oklahoma in 1916, ten-year-old Melvin dreams of living in Alaska. Nearly fifty years later, he builds a 47-foot boat in his Arkansas back yard and cruises it 10,000 miles to Alaska. Melvin has never been south of the United States border, has never even been on a boat in the open ocean, and has certainly never navigated a homemade vessel for thousands of miles in the Caribbean and Pacific Oceans. A true story of courage and endurance, South to Alaska chronicles Melvin's dangerous solo journey through a watery world he knows little about, to a world he cannot forget.

Reviews

"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
Fairbanks Daily News-Miner

"An amazing and inspirational tale..."

--Midwest Book Review

"...a riveting tale, in the tradition of the best seafaring yarns. ...a story that needed to be told."

--Jennifer Lamont Leo
Northern Reach Magazine

"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."

--Clyde W. Ford
PassageMaker Magazine, Books & Boats Blog

"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
The Spokesman-Review

"The family story weaves well with the story of Owens' voyage, and adds to a reader's interest in his ultimate success."

--Leila Kheiry
Ketchikan Daily News

"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
PassageMaker Magazine

"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
Southwest Times Record

"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
Kodiak Daily Mirror

"A beautiful reminder that life begins where your comfort zone ends."

--Holly Chase Williams
Spokane Coeur d'Alene Living Magazine

"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

Reviews

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