A Voyage Beyond Reason: An Epic of Survival Based on the Original Journals of Benjamin Wade [Paperback]

Tom Gauthier (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: March 10, 2009

He Dared to Dream an Impossible Dream.
He risked Body and Soul to make it Real.
on
A VOYAGE BEYOND REASON

In 1996, twenty four year old Benjamin Wade sets out on a solo voyage in a tiny sea kayak. His goal lies 6,000 miles away - and deep within his own soul.

The chance discovery of his journals, buried on a Colombian cliff above the sea, uncovers a mystery which took many years to finally solve. His journals tell of misery and elation, of triumph and failure, of insight and insanity.

Does the man make the journey, or does the journey make the man?

Follow the tiny kayak, and follow the mind of a young man set on a goal that no amount of torture can dissuade him from reaching, on a journey that brings him face to face with himself.

Product Details

• Paperback: 408 pages
• Publisher: Outskirts Press (March 10, 2009)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1432712349
• ISBN-13: 978-1432712341
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 6.1 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (8 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,605,615 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Tom Gauthier began his serious writing career after nearly forty years of corporate work that took him to twenty countries and immersed him in a variety of cultures. While writing for commercial publications and creating organizational and personal development texts and lectures was gratifying, Tom was waiting for retirement and the chance to dive into the deep end of the writing pool - the novel.

His first novel, "Code Name: ORION'S EYE", weaves a tale of spies, secret technology, and high adventure from historic events of World War II. It has produced something of a cult following among veterans of the Pacific War and the families of soldiers who "were there."

Tom's second novel, "A VOYAGE BEYOND REASON", earned a 2009 international award for literary fiction from Writer's Digest. The true-life story of the record breaking solo sea kayak voyage of Benjamin Wade (of CBS TV Survivor fame as "coach"), written from Wade's original journals, has received broad positive reviews.

His third novel, "MEAD'S TREK", picks up the story from ORION'S EYE and moves on into the war of the OSS in Indo-China. Two of the cover blurbs tell the tale:

"Gauthier weaves a compelling story of intrigue, action and romance."
Lis Wiehl, author of "Face of Betrayal" and FOX NEWS analyst

"Edge of your seat action . . . impressively accurate descriptions of the war . . ."
Judge Don Sokol, WWII B-17 Pilot, decorated veteran of twenty-four missions over Germany and the last raid on Berlin.

Tom lives with his wife of thirty-six years in the mountains of northeastern California. His next two novels are well along and aiming at late 2010 publication.
"Living in a mountain forest with views of the Honey Lake Valley below and to seeming infinity out across the Great Basin gives me the perfect day-dreamers scenario to swirl the plots around in my mind."
Tom's in-depth knowledge of geography, love of historical research, and decades of personal experience traveling and working on four continents provides the grist for that day-dreaming mill.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

39 of 44 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Simply Awful!! Coach Demonstrates his Shortcomings....Again., April 16, 2009

By 

S. Schmidt "Survivor Fan" (Kelso, WA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: A Voyage Beyond Reason: An Epic of Survival Based on the Original Journals of Benjamin Wade (Paperback)

Too bad Amazon does not allow zero star ratings because that's what this book deserves! The whole thing reads like one big joke. The writing was terrible, the story was unconvincing, and the whole thing was the equivalent of an arrogant piece of third-rate fiction!! In short, it was nothing but indulgent nonsense!! [..]

22 of 27 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Poor excuse for writing, April 23, 2009

By 

Outside - See all my reviews

This review is from: A Voyage Beyond Reason: An Epic of Survival Based on the Original Journals of Benjamin Wade (Paperback)

This book is a poorly written account of a very improbable series of events. Wade, the main character and author of the journal on which this preposterous story is based, is unbelievable at best and the sole reference on many of the "amazing" events. Kidnapped by pygmies, world records and more provide an attempt at excitement, but are woefully lacking both in delivery and believability. Poorly written, poorly edited and not worth a cent.

7 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars It Could Be Worse, April 29, 2009

By 

Juliet Waldron ""Mozart's Wife"" (PA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: A Voyage Beyond Reason: An Epic of Survival Based on the Original Journals of Benjamin Wade (Paperback)

A VOYAGE BEYOND REASON

by Tom Gauthier, Based on the Journals of Benjamin Wade

Outskirts Press PB

ISBN 978-1-43271234-1

389 Pages

The first person who walked between the glaciers into a pristine valley--and then managed to come back and show the others how to get there--had a certain gene. Nowadays, this particular gene doesn't get a work-out very often, but here's a story about a young man who had that gene, and what he had to do about it. "A Voyage Beyond Reason" is a novelization of the journals kept by Benjamin Wade during a voyage by kayak that took him from Baja to Columbia.

The title is apt. Ben Wade was in good physical condition and knew how to handle his craft, but other than that, there seems to have been little understanding of what his plan would entail. He cheerfully heads out equipped with a road map of Mexico, which obviously doesn't contain information about the treacherous tidal currents of the Sea of Cortez, the place where his journey begins--and very nearly ends. He doesn't know Spanish, he has little knowledge of the political situation in the various countries whose borders he'll be crossing, and he isn't an experienced seaman. You wonder if he'll make it.

There are storms, bad water, disease, hunger, fear, loneliness, and the occasional shark looking for a light snack. In short, it's standard "reality show" fare--a mostly unprepared person pitted against Nature and his own limitations. In this case, however, there is the very real possibility that Ben Wade isn't going to survive.

Survive he does, though, rescued by dumb luck, the kindness of strangers, Divine Providence, and his own strength and perseverance. Ben has a lot to prove to himself, and a lot of growing up to do, but he seems, pretty clearly, to have done some during his journey, which does indeed end where he'd hoped, in Columbia.

"A Voyage Beyond Reason" is billed as a true adventure story, although some occurrences, such as the discovery of the journal by the author, strain credulity. There were occasional grammatical/typographic errors, but the book is generally not hard to read. There is repetition of what I'd call an "inspirational" subtext which some readers may like, but which may grate on others. My other caveat is that at 400+ pages, it is far, far longer than it needs to be. This is something an editor could have easily remedied, but I put it down to the affection the author clearly has for his young subject. If you are fan of the "true adventure" genre--ocean-going, exotic locale variety--or, if you are a "Survivor" junkie, you might enjoy this one.