Play Live Radio
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
0:00 0:00
Available On Air Stations

'Kook': Life's Lessons Learned On A Surfboard

Travel writer Peter Heller has sailed the Antarctic Sea with eco-pirates in pursuit of an illegal Japanese whaling fleet, and traversed the deepest Tibetan gorge with kayakers bent on conquering the Tsangpo River.

But it was as a "kook," or beginner surfer, in Huntington Beach, Calif. that he caught a glimpse of his next great adventure: a trip down the West Coast in search of the perfect wave.

Despite an inauspicious start with surfing -- Heller paddled his egg, or beginner board, directly into the path of a veteran surfer, who showered him with invectives -- Heller soon took to surfing. In mere months, he grew from a complete novice to a capable surfer who didn't embarrass himself in front of the pros.

Kook is his story of his surfing and soul-searching journey -- and what he learned along the way.

Copyright 2023 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org.

KUER is listener-supported public radio. Support this work by making a donation today.