Coming this fall to booksellers everywhere: Wilderness Strangers, Adventures in Shangri-La, a story of brotherhood, adventure, love, tragedy, resilience, remorse and hope -- from the highest of highs on mountaintops in the North Cascades to the lowest of lows in the quagmire of depression.
What are the chances? Sight unseen, two college students eventually connect because another person, a mutual friend, said to each of them: "You've gotta meet this guy." Like two magnets drawn together with inexorable force, Kerry and Joe were also complete opposites.
Kerry, of Scandinavian descent, is a country boy from the wilds of North Dakota. Joe, the product of an urban jungle in Portland, Oregon, is Italian-American. In Wilderness Strangers: Adventures in Shangri-La, these two unlikely friends become kindred spirits, alter egos and soul mates.
Yet, much like the poles of a magnet, one is drawn to the yin and the other to the yang in life. In spite of their differences, their abiding friendship, fascination for adventure climbing mountains and paddling rivers, and obsession with literature and the arts will become their legacy.
