Set in a remote community on a majestic and rugged island in Southeast Alaska, Rogan Chaffey and his family are thrust into a heartbreaking situation when the family’s eldest son, Rogan’s older brother, is diagnosed with an inoperable brain tumor. Fast forward a few years, and Rogan is a young man who loves adventure, loves his family, and tries to live how God wants him to live, all the while wrestling with the universal question of why God let this terrible thing happen when He is supposed to be a good and loving God. Rogan feels a need to step in and fill his brother’s place, putting immense pressure on himself, like taking responsibility for his two younger sisters, keeping them safe when they encounter an angry bear at Thunder Falls.
Everyday life in Alaska is an adventure and is experienced by the reader. Routine life in the Chaffey house on the frontier is anything but usual. Travel is often by boat, trips to the grocery store take them to thick forests, swirling ocean currents, or wild huckleberry hillsides. For a youth beginning his ninth-grade school year, life is truly a daily adventure. He must also learn to deal with a bully, Nico Vega.
Rogan and his humorous best friend, nicknamed Runt, share many adventures that strengthen character and hone leadership and integrity while they struggle with greater questions about life and family. A deer hunting trip is successful but fraught with challenges, as well as danger from Crazy Hoffman, a reclusive neighbor. Mr. Chaffey takes Rogan and Runt out on the ocean to halibut fish. On the way, they make a stop at Cemetery Island to explore. Going home, the motor breaks down, putting them in danger from the elements and wildlife. Rogan and his group of close friends have fun adventures on their camping trip to Half Moon Beach. They discuss the legendary Dead Man’s Hole, which perilously takes them to a location of danger and possible disaster.
There is a local legend of a young man who attempted to jump Dead Man’s Hole with fatal results. The town’s youth, however, aren’t sure if it is a myth or an actual event until Rogan is confronted with the answer in an up-close and personal way.
Join Rogan and his friends as they live and survive in the Alaskan wilderness.
