DAVID BRYEN

I was very moved by David Bryen’s provocative account of his external journey– to Copper Canyon in northern Mexico–that becomes a profound internal journey. It is rare to witness a man (or woman) so relentlessly pursue the often dark and slippery twists and turns that ultimately move toward the deepest understandings of what it means to be a human being. This book belongs beside two other classics, Joseph Conrad’s Heart of Darkness and Robert Pirsig’s Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance. Like those two books, David Bryen’s Riding Off the Edge of the Map will pull you off your own ordinary map and into something profoundly real: your own life.

Jim Tipton, author of Letters from a Stranger, All the Horses of Heaven and other books.

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I really enjoyed this book! Once I opened it I couldn’t put it down – David Bryen takes us on an insightful, powerful and profound journey in and out of the magnificent Copper Canyon. Fear, self-doubt and reluctant acceptance pull David well beyond his comfort zone into a perilously rutted and rock-strewn Mexican no-man’s land. This book quickly absorbs the reader, who is drawn chapter through chapter on a route of reflection, analysis and struggle aboard a motorcycle not suited for the unyielding environment and in the company of riding partners who don’t know how to quit. It’s beautiful, honest and really well done!

Steve Garets, Director, TEAM OREGON Motorcycle Safety Program, Oregon State University, Corvallis, OR

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On one level this thriller relates the tribulations of three men on a harrowing motorcycle misadventure in Mexico’s Copper Canyon. Author David Bryen, a professional psychotherapist, translates his ordeals in the Canyon into wisdom about the uncharted territory we all must travel in our own inner journey. Bryen is a man who has pondered deeply and ventured far beyond the map of ordinary human experience. Men and women alike can resonate with the formidable challenges of the trip and the tense relationship dynamic that plays out among the bikers. There are countless lessons to be learned here, and for anyone who follows the Siren’s irresistible call, they will find a map here.

Margaret Van Every, author of A Pillow Stuffed with Diamonds and Saying Her Name.

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I felt like I was hanging on for dear life on the back of David Bryen’s motorcycle as he traversed Mexico’s treacherous Copper Canyon. “As a woman, I was privy to the inner working of a group of men who couldn’t find help in a place that has no map. Along the ride, I was treated to his insight and wit about expectations, exasperation and expatriate life while he crashed his motorcycle, got back on, lost it, lied about it, and eventually used it as a metaphor for those tricky roads we all navigate.” Riding Off the Edge of the Map is a lyrical jaunt best taken by those who love to travel and have not yet arrived.

Kelly Hayes-Raitt, author of the forthcoming Living Large in Limbo: How I Found Myself Among the World’s Forgotten.