The Black Penguin

About this book

A devout young boy in rural Ohio Andrew Evans had his life mapped for him: baptism mission Brigham Young University temple marriage and children of his own. But as an awkward gay kid bullied and bored he escaped into the glossy pages of National Geographic and the wide promise of the world atlas. The Black Penguin is Evanss memoir travel tale and love story of his eventual journey to the farthest reaches of the map a wild yet touching adventure across some of the most astonishing landscapes on Earth. Ejected from church and shunned by his family as a young man Evans embarks on an ambitious overland journey halfway across the world. Riding public transportation he crosses swamps deserts mountains and jungles slowly approaching his lifelong dream and ultimate goal: Antarctica. With each new mile comes laughter pain unexpected friendship true weirdness unsettling realities and some hair-raising moments that eventually lead to a singular discovery on a remote beach at the bottom of the world. Evanss 12 000-mile voyage becomes a soulful quest to balance faith family and self reminding us that in the end our lives are defined by the roads we take the places we touch and those we hold nearest.