Author hits the road in search of heroes
Heroes are known for taking perilous journeys, slaying dragons,
and rescuing fair maidens. But in this day and age, what exactly
does it mean to be a hero?
That’s the question Pacific Grove author Brad Herzog asked
himself when he tackled his latest memoir,
”
Turn Left at the Trojan Horse: A Would-Be Hero’s American
Odyssey
”
(Citadel Press, $14.95).
Author hits the road in search of heroes
Heroes are known for taking perilous journeys, slaying dragons, and rescuing fair maidens. But in this day and age, what exactly does it mean to be a hero?
That’s the question Pacific Grove author Brad Herzog asked himself when he tackled his latest memoir, “Turn Left at the Trojan Horse: A Would-Be Hero’s American Odyssey” (Citadel Press, $14.95).
Herzog is an acquaintance of mine, and a very talented writer. He spends a lot of time on the road in the course of his career, especially a lot of time in an RV. Unlike many of us, though, he thinks a lot about America and what it means.
This all gave him an ideal jumping-off point to think about heroism, and life, and middle age, and all that jazz, while on the way to his college reunion in Ithaca, N.Y. a few years ago.
Along the way he encountered a variety of memorable, and yes, heroic characters, and has ample opportunity to ruminate on the universal truths embodied in Greek mythology, and to examine how its stories and ideals still permeate Western culture.
He traveled from Mount Olympus, Wash., through Iliad, Mont., and Siren, Wisc., on to Apollo, Penn., among many other places with Greek names.
And of course, the place where he finished his journey is named for the home of Odysseus, the great Greek hero who returns after 19 years of adventures among gods and monsters.
Herzog, who has previously published two travel memoirs (“States of Mind” in 2001 and “Small World” in 2004), said “Left Turn at the Trojan Horse” is a blend of philosophical musings, biography and travelogue, but with a twist: “I would describe it as the memoir of an Everyman searching for the hero within himself.”
Positive buzz is already being generated for Herzog’s memoir. It’s one of a handful of new books selected for the Indie Next “Great Reads” list by independent booksellers, and other critics and writers have also given it a thumbs-up. An excerpt from the book is included in this month’s U.S. Airways magazine.
Herzog traveled some 7,000 miles on the coast-to-coast trip, often dictating as he drove, into a digital recorder so that he could capture crucial details while he was seeing them. The majority of the writing was done after the journey was over – “I was always so exhausted at the end of the day,” he said, after all that driving, researching and interviewing.
Not everyone he met along the way is heroic in the traditional sense of the word. Take, for instance, the man who calls himself Hobo Dan, whom Herzog happened upon in North Dakota. Dan is a true wanderer, a man without a home, and perfectly content to go without one.
“I’m not homeless,” Dan tells Herzog. “I’m an outdoorsman.”
Some of the other people Herzog meets along the way do fit into the traditional mold of the hero, including the teacher who has taken charge of a remote one-room schoolhouse; the small-town sheriff who risked his life to warn townspeople of a tornado; and the Army bomb expert home from Iraq on family leave.
Each encounter gives Herzog further material for mulling the concept of heroism. The bomb expert, for instance, returned from the war after his son was born with a heart defect; Herzog examines the valiant nature of wartime service versus that of being a father and taking care of a family during a time of crisis.
More about Herzog can be found at www.bradherzog.com, including his book signing schedule for summer and fall, which will feature appearances at the National Steinbeck Center in Salinas, Pacific Grove Library, and Capitola Book Cafe in August and September.
Was the journey reward enough for Herzog? Its conclusion certainly was.
“In the end, though, I found that the hero is in the eye of the beholder,” he said. “And seeing my kids again clarified that for me.”
