Near the Wild Heart

By Neil C. Johannsen

In this exhilarating and lyrical historical novel inspired by true events, a girl develops a profound bond with a freedom-loving horse marooned on Alaska's remote Katmai Coast.

In 1956, a foundering barge caught in a violent storm strands a quarter-horse stallion named Takli on Alaska's remote Katmai Coast. Resisting all rescue attempts, he lives eighteen years on his own in the wild: surviving marauding grizzly bears, the brutal elements, and even a tsunami that followed the great 1964 Alaska Earthquake. To locals, he's a miracle and a legend. To Willow Mackenzie, Takli is more.

Every summer, the strong-willed young woman treks to Takli's rugged home on the far-flung coastline. Raised on a backwoods ranch in Homer, studying music in Seattle, and striving for her own independence, Willow marvels at her beautiful friend's resilience. It's something she'll need in the wake of a devastating tragedy that strikes Willow's family and sends her spiraling into grief and guilt.

Over the years, Takli's survival inspires Willow to bear her losses, navigate her own yearning for freedom, and understand the pull and the power of nature in the last frontier.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 166254541X
• ISBN13: 9781662545412
• Release Date: February 2027
• Publisher: Lake Union Publishing