A High and Beautiful Wave

A novel set on the Island of Kaua‘i during the sixties and the present as the main character looks back at his youth in order to understand his present. Serendipitous circumstances compel Oakley, a disillusioned college English teacher, to revisit the scene of a crucial turning point of his youth: a treehouse community on Kaua‘i where he lived at the end of 1970 among hippies, surfers, dropouts, and an enigmatic “Zen Master” who challenged them all. As Oakley retraces his journey and recalls an era of exhilaration and unlimited possibility, he attempts to come to terms with contemporary life in a society in decline.

Author: John Whythe White