By Neil Christian Johannsen
Inspired by the true survival story of a horse alone in wilderness Alaska
In 1956, a barge-load of pack horses under tow by a fishing boat nearly sinks in a terrifying midnight storm on Alaska’s Shelikof Strait. Bound for a Kodiak ranch, the barge instead wrecks on a rugged Katmai shore, stranding the pack animals on a grizzly-infested beach. All the horses soon get rescued but one, a spirited stallion named Takli, owned by Willow, a girl being raised on a hardscrabble Alaska homestead. It soon becomes clear that while Takli will let Willow visit his wilderness refuge and climb on his back for exhilarating bareback gallops, this freedom-loving horse will never again be corralled. Human tragedy intervenes when Willow’s bush-pilot brother crashes his seaplane while helping her stay connected with the horse who is her twin spirit.
Remarkably, and true to life, the marooned stallion lives 18 years in the wild, surviving marauding bears, frigid Alaska winters and even the devastating 1964 Alaska Earthquake. Reminiscent of Jack London’s “Call of the Wild,” here’s another powerful tale of a bond between human and beast, this time spotlighting a fiercely independent young woman and her equine counterpart. Based on a true story, “Near the Wild Heart” is the work of a wordsmith who spent much of his life among horses, tempestuous seas, wild Alaska and its freedom-loving families.
Chapter Synopses Coming Soon
About the Author
Neil Christian Johannsen grew up on a working ranch in Northern California. As a youth he delivered newspapers from horseback and learned to fly a bush plane out of a pasture. After earning a master’s in forestry/outdoor recreation, he worked as a park ranger, artist, writer, and skipper of offshore sailboats, building his own thirty-footer to sail wild Alaskan waters. He served as deputy director of California State Parks and, as the longest-serving director of Alaska State Parks, earned a commendation from the Alaska legislature for establishing fifty parks. He oversaw preservation of millions of acres of scenic and recreation areas and historic sites in Alaska and later consulted on nationally protected lands in Europe, South America, and Russia.
Neil has written for national magazines and coauthored a guide to exploring Prince William Sound. He and his wife, Hilary Hilscher, live with two cats on an island in the Pacific Northwest.