The true stories in this book are about temporarily disconnecting from the ordinary life of a big-city lawyer to experience exotic islands, strange creatures, and different cultures. One tale is about an eye-to-eye encounter with a mother humpback whale and her calf in the isles of Tonga. It left the author shaking as if an electric current was pulsing through his body. Another is a gripping account of a too-close-for-comfort experience with a sperm whale, which left the author with wet shorts. After a harrowing search to find them, leaders of the Outlaws of Kalalau share with the author why their commitment to living by the Aloha Spirit requires the rejection of materialistic society, technology, and the law. In another chapter the author explains why the citizens of the tiny nation of Palau hold the title of the most litigious people in the world. Palauans have filed more lawsuits than there are people in Palau. The book begins with the tragic tale of Hurricane Mitch chasing down the sailing ship Fantome to kill all hands aboard. It ends with the author lost and alone at sea in a kayak at night, when a shark bumped his boat. Was salvation by the grace of God, luck, or something else? The stories are not so much a travelogue as a vicarious island-hopping adventure and spiritual journey. Reading this little book is intended to take the reader out of the busyness of daily life for awhile. It might also inspire a more adventurous and more consciously spiritual approach to life. Jeff Rasley is the author of the acclaimed Bringing Progress to Paradise, a memoir about mountain climbing and connecting with the remote village of Basa in the Nepal Himalayas. But is bringing progress to Basa a risk to its cultural traditions?
