Inside, by Susan Marie Conrad

“The Ocean is calling me. This is my Journey.“

With these words, in the spring of 2010, Susan Marie Conrad scaled her world down to an 18-foot sea kayak and launched a solo journey that took her north to Alaska. With no sense of where she belonged in space and unreconciled feelings of a painful childhood following her, she decided that instead of running away, she would run toward her dreams. Inside (288 pages) chronicles her adventure, which took her along the western coast of North America through the Inside Passage—a 1,200-mile ribbon of water—in a journey of the sea and soul.

The expedition took her deep within herself, humbling her, healing her, helping her to discover the depths of her own strength and courage. On her way from Anacortes, Washington, to Juneau, Alaska, she grappled with fear and exhaustion, forged friendships with quirky people in the strangest places, endured perilous weather and angry seas, and pretended not to be intimidated by 700-pound grizzly bears and 40-ton whales.

She lived her dream.

– Grand Prize Winner, Chanticleer International Book Award, Journey / Narrative Non-Fiction

– First Place, Independent Press Award, Adventure

– Finalist, Washington State Book Awards, Memoir/Biography

– Gold Medalist, Readers’ Favorite Book Award, Non-Fiction, Adventure

“I had the privilege of meeting Susan Conrad before she set out on her journey. Her excitement about the coming venture was contagious. As we said goodbye I was not a little envious of all that lay before her. And she does not disappoint. Inside: One Woman’s Journey through the Inside Passage is a singular epic. It is a brave story. One of personal triumph, of heart break, terrifying challenges, soulful introspection and sheer joy. It is also a moving story about the power of friendship. Her words flow off the pages, carrying the reader along on the current of her adventure. I highly recommend this book to anyone who wants to read about real adventure, personal challenge and experience, through her evocative writing, the wonders and beauty of the Inside Passage.”
    –Milbry Polk, co-author of Women of Discovery and founder of Wings WorldQuest

“Susan Conrad writes of the things that make solo sea kayaking challenging, rewarding and life changing. The tides are not always in her favor and the crossings are not all sun drenched and paddled with ease or certainty. At times her fatigue is as palpable as the taste of salt from tears or sea spray or both. When Susan reaches her goal, the reader will understand there is so much more to a solo endeavor than the physical act of paddling 1,100 miles.
    –Chris Duff, expedition paddler and rower, author, On Celtic Tides and Southern Exposure

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