Alaskan Pioneer Adventure Book

Title: One Wave at a Time A True Story
Author: Billy Bryan Brown
Publisher: VIP Partners
Author’s Web site: www.Alaskawildernessfamily.com
ISBN: 978-1-60145-300-6
Pages: 213
Reviewer: Yvonne Perry (www.yvonneperry.net)
Review date: October 6, 2007

OH, MY GOSH! What a story!

One Wave at a Time tells of a miraculous true life adventure only ninety-nine percent of us could ever dream of, let alone live and survive. Billy Bryan Brown has done just that. Brown articulates vivid living imagery in a colloquial style as though you’re sitting with him beside a fire, seeing the colors of the flames and smelling the aromas of the burning wood.

Brown starts the journey as he describes the loss of his family in a tragic accident, followed by the complete destruction of the privileged life he had always known. Suddenly, at sixteen years of age, Billy Bryan Brown was cast into a world of unknown. Wandering the countryside from Canada to Mexico, he worked odd jobs, unable to find that “something” to fill the churning emptiness he describes. Then, he saw Ami. It was love at first sight.

This modern day pioneer, lead by a stirring deep in his soul and supported by his equally adventurous wife Ami, took off one day for the wilds of the Alaskan bush country with little more than their blind enthusiasm and love for one another. Page after page, Brown relentlessly pours out one harrowing story after another about their seemingly fool-hearted quest. All the while, one slowly gathers an appreciation for their inner strength and developing awareness of the wild land and scary sea they call home.

One Wave at a Time is a story of trust, of surviving on the most basic of needs: meat, warmth and water. As mankind has done since his arrival on this planet, the Brown’s learned how to adapt to their ever changing environment. They become hunter-gatherers in order to overcome one obstacle at a time, discover valuable life lessons, and ascertain that life’s simplest treasures are the ones that truly make life worth living.

Like the Beverly Hillbillies on steroids, the Browns become the consummate Alaskans as they live the Alaskan creed: take only what you need, use all that you have, when you no longer need it, give it to someone who does.

Brown weaves his tale just as he had lived it with straight-forward, simple, honest talk. There is no need to embellish these heroic tales when it comes to describing the hair-raising horrific sounds coming from the monsters in the night, or standing face to face with a twelve-foot tall grizzly bear ready to demolish them, or a raging bull moose ready to push the entire family over a cliff. From fishing boats on the roughest Pacific seas to the remotest spot of land in North America, day after day the Browns tackle seemingly insurmountable odds. Whether it was finding wood, food, water, medical care, or their house burning down, where there was a will, there was a way, One Wave at a Time.

Storyteller Billy Bryan Brown, his wife and their seven children have gathered in Nashville, Tennessee to share true stories about their unusual experiences while living in the Alaskan wilderness for more than 20 years. While in Nashville, they will be presenting their story at the following places:

Tues 10/09 5 to 7 PM Donelson Senior Center
Wed 10/10 4 to 7 PM TN State Fairgrounds "Boomer" festival
Thurs 10/11 9 to 11 AM Donelson Senior Center
Tues 10/16 5 to 7 PM Donelson Senior Center