The people, the places, the loves, the losses, and the aching curiosity about one's own destiny and motivations - it's all rendered here in strong, fresh prose. This beautiful, worthy book has a place in every surf-literature home library, and is doubtless just the beginning of a great writer's career.'' - Daniel Duane, author of Caught Inside ''A sense of freedom, overcoming fears, discovering new cultures, dealing with love, the exciting, unexplainable feeling of riding a wave - this is what Chasing Waves is all about.'' - Mary Osborne, pro surfer and co-author of Surf Sister SURF-SATURATED DAYDREAMS In Chasing Waves, Amy Waeschle shares her globe-trotting adventures and chronicles her evolution from a nervous newbie to a self-confident and skillful surfer: Cramming into a hot bus near Playa Linda, Mexico, clutching a beat-up foam body board. Quivering, blue-lipped, on a rocky beach after a session in Vancouver Island's icy swells. Braving explosions of ocean spray and hanging out with ski bums in Fiji. Discovering small villages and the essence of ''pura vida'' in Costa Rica. Finding a quick surf fix off the coast of Sicily ... For Waeschle, surfing is more of a feeling than a sport, a response to the freedom and grace of riding waves. And in the course of her surfing odyssey, she learns to balance love and family with her surf lust. Amy Waeschle is a freelance writer and photographer whose work has appeared in Surf Life for Women, Surfline.com , The Seattle Times, and the Patagonia catalog. She lives in the state of Washington with her husband and daughter.