Tuesday, March 19, 2013 • Coach Wade holds book signing

Publisher’s note: This story originally appeared in the Tuesday, march 19, 2013 edition of the Lassen County Times.

Skeptics and fans may finally be able to settle the authenticity debate surrounding Benjamin ‘Coach’ Wade’s many stories of grand adventures.

In his new nonfiction book, “No Turning Back: The South American Expedition of a Dragon Slayer,” the three-time Survivor contestant, musician, orchestra conductor, soccer coach and author, puts to rest any doubts about the details of his epic six-month, 6,000-mile kayaking trip from the small beach of San Felipe in Baja, California to Colombia, South America, in 1996-97.

The 38 chapters of Wade’s book come straight out of a journal he wrote in on a daily basis while on the kayaking trip that Wade says changed him from a boy into a man. Readers will also find original poems and journal entries written by Wade, as well as photos documenting the journey.

In the foreword, Wade writes about the importance of the trip: “It brought me face-to-face with my own inadequacies, showed me my weaknesses and forged in me an incredible inner strength that stays with me to this day.”

The Knoxville, Tennessee native credits the experience with giving him the confidence to “set and accomplish other goals since then, each larger than the last … ”

According to Wade’s book, the trip made him the record holder for the longest solo kayak trip on the ocean (at the time) and he was recognized as the first kayaker to solo navigate the Orinoco and Amazon rivers.

While being a contestant on Survivor was difficult, Wade says the half of a year he spent on the solo adventure was much harder because it brought him to the “valley of the shadow of death, face-to-face with my own mortality.”

Wade said he hopes sharing his story of battling the elements, hunger and loneliness will change the reader’s life just as it did his.

Wade will hold a book signing from 1 to 3 p.m. Saturday, March 23 at Margie’s Book Nook in Susanville.