Akilina · Out of the Woods

Submerged in a car, near death.

Alone, at a crossroads-without-a-crossroads.

Two paths.

One destiny.

Halley has led a life marred by indecision and poor choices. Abused by lovers and herself, when she marries Sean, a good man, she can’t bear his love. The day she plans to leave him, her car is forced from a suspension bridge, plunging deep into a fast-flowing river. But Halley is given one more chance, when ten-year-old Eden opens the door between Halley’s past, present and future. She embarks on a wild and dangerous adventure, through dark woods, vast tundras, and to the top of the highest peaks, encountering her long-ago selves, and battling a mysterious but strangely familiar nemesis. Frightened, lost, but determined to succeed, she is in search of herself, her baby, and a life worth living.

A book about struggle. About transformation. About claiming one’s own light. Akilina is a deeply moving masterpiece.

Patricia A. Bowmer, psychologist, coach, author, adventure racer, mother, and wife, was born in New York, and has lived in Australia, and Hong Kong. She currently lives in Melbourne with her husband and two young children. She is also the author of In Pursuit of Joy: Life Lessons from Exhilaration.