SEAN C. GOLIGHTLY
SEAN C. GOLIGHTLY
Seattle, At Least
- TOM ZOELLNER, THE NATIONAL ROAD:
DISPATCHES FROM A CHANGING AMERICA
"An epic biking odyssey."
- KEVIN FEDARKO, A WALK IN THE PARK
"A window into the mysteries of the continent's edge."
"Each sentence tantalizes and invites."
- LYDIA PAAR , THE EXIT IS THE ENTRANCE
COMING MAY 2027
Advance Praise for
Seattle, At Least
“This journey is not only about traversing state lines but also the lives of those who cross Golightly’s path, proving that we can all live more fully when we dare to say yes to each other. Seattle, at Least is deeply extroverted and surprisingly human.“
- Jonathan T. Bailey, The Sun Has Shifted As Have I
“When Sean Golightly embarked upon an epic biking odyssey along the length of America’s west coast, he followed an inkling that he was about to undergo a series of watershed experiences that stand as the hallmarks of every great rite of passage: confusion giving way to revelation; pain laying the groundwork to wonder; doubt opening the door to wisdom and, eventually, existential joy. Seattle, At Least is a celebration of the hardships and the ecstasies that await those who possess the madness as well as the courage to permit their dreams to chart a voyage of personal discovery.”
- Kevin Fedarko, A Walk in The Park
"The language of each sentence tantalizes and invites, and through it, I find myself transported back to the earnest searching of my own youth, where the various subcultures of the West rushed in at the senses, and I hungered for the same wisdom Golightly seeks in each deeply-lived moment of his travels. Once you start, you’ll have a hard time putting this story down to sleep, because there are so many dreams and visions here for you already.”
- Lydia Paar, The Exit is The Entrance
“Seattle at Least is about what can happen if you move through the world open-hearted, with gratitude, saying yes as often as you can. With great adventure, and great wisdom—both inherent and learned—Golightly’s travels from San Diego to Seattle reveal a landscape and a personality so inspiring that I too wanted to hop on my own Green Bicycle and start riding. What a way to travel the West Coast—through Sean Golightly’s observant eyes with wisdom coming directly from his striving heart. What a love this book is. What a love for life.”
-Nicole Walker, How to Plant a Billion Trees
"The summer that Sean Golightly decided to follow his dreams and commit to a bicycle trip up the West Coast was the same summer where he found himself as a human being: a player of street music, an archaeologist of his own past, a traveler on the generous earth, and a listener to the wildly variegated voices of those around him, some offering the next yes, all showing a window into the mysteries of the continent's edge. This memoir is a journey to be remembered."
-Tom Zoellner, The National Road: Dispatches From a Changing America
"So much must go right."
Things will go wrong. That's no question. There will always be mistakes and malice. There will be dark nights - of the soul and otherwise - that saddle us with toil and demand we navigate a world we don't fully understand. There will be hard work, trial and error. Things will go wrong. Already, so much has already.
And, so much has gone right.
Consider the light of something you love. Anything at all. A person, a passion, a painting. Recall how you found the light of this love and work backwards. What had to happen to make your meeting possible? What choices and chances put you in the same place and time? Trace them. Examine the details of life, and you'll find: Its all against the odds.
So much must go right.
That there is love, or joy, or light in the sky is evidence of a great many minor miracles, linked across history, perfectly timed, to deliver the present moment. Even a single star is worth marvelling - and there are septillions. But sometimes, we forget this, and understandably so. Night gets dark. Times get hard. Joy and Love get lost on the run.
This is why we tell stories. Be it a novel or a song, a poem or a photograph, we tell stories to share the details of life, to map the minor miracles that have brought us through darkness. We tell stories to chart the constellations of our place and time. With stories, we bring forth light from our corner of experience. Like candles in a crowd, we can keep each other's fire. May our stories attest that yes, yes, things go wrong. And, still -
So much must go right.
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