Kook

The Beach Boys sang: "Catch a wave and your sitting on top of the world."

Peter Heller listened... Belatedly.

A self-confessed mid-life crisis made him grab a stick and paddle out from Huntington Beach, California, into an environment of great beauty but also hostility, territoriality and embarrassment. His soul-searching journey became material for the book Kook: What Surfing Taught Me About Love, Life, and Catching the Perfect Wave.

Audio Embed: All Things Considered 7/25/10, Host: Audie Cornish.

Read an excerpt at NPR.