A couple’s affectionate retrospective of their decade spent living off the grid, in a coastal paradise for paddlers, whale watchers, and naturalists.
Twenty years ago, two empty-nesters with a love of the outdoors stumbled upon a vacant beach house on a small island in Clayoquot Sound, part of an off-grid, ten-acre stretch nestled within a provincial park reserve. Escape to Clayoquot Sound is an extended love letter to this place, chronicling the decade John and Bea Dowd spent as year-round caretakers of the property.
Told with humour and heart in alternating voices, and lavishly illustrated throughout with stunning natural photography, this book a story of joyful solitude, of living in harmony with wildlife and respecting the forces of nature. It is about the fleeting definition of home and family, and about creating community in the wilderness. Above all, it is a tribute to an achingly beautiful, fragile place.
Bea Dowd is a photographer and editor who has worked in magazine and newspaper publishing and corporate communications. With her husband, John Dowd, she co-edited Sea Kayaker magazine.
New Zealand-born John Dowd is an internationally renowned kayak expert, photographer, and the bestselling author of Sea Kayaking: The Classic Manual for Touring, from Day Trips to Major Expeditions, as well as several adventure books for youth. With his wife, Bea Dowd, he published and co-edited Sea Kayaker magazine.