The Unknown Adventurer: A Story of Dreaming Big, Living Big and Learning From Failure

by Barry Walton

From Emmy Award winner Barry Eight years ago, I had a moment of clarity that drove me to want to find my voice, share my story, and offer people the inspiration, insights, and wisdom of my life experiences. Having failed the third grade, survived a traumatic car crash at sixteen, studied theology and God in college, worked with celebrities in Hollywood, chased the love of my life to Italy, and filmed in the Himalayas, among other stories along the way, I have had experiences that shaped my view in profound ways. I will tell you that the experience of telling and retelling major events and obstacles in one's life is not easy. You relive the emotions, revisit feelings packed away, and uncover moments that sometimes have never been resolved. While it seemed very therapeutic at times, I often felt like I needed to resolve problems that have long since passed their "statute of limitations" or the period in which they should have been addressed. Throughout that cathartic experience, I started to uncover my path, one that I now see has shaped my perspectives on love, God, and manifesting one's dreams. It is a path with lessons that I believe will enlighten and entertain people, offering insights into their own lives that they might not have had otherwise and helping them chart a course toward a better life for themselves. Now I am publishing and looking forward to bringing this story to the world.

250 pages, Hardcover

Published December 3, 2024

Reviews

[Charles Bookman · Rating 3 out of 5]

Family friend Barry Walton grew up in the heartland, attended bible college, then headed west like so many before him to seek his fortune. Living on a boat in Marina del Rey, he picked up production work in the movie business. Through many early failures and false starts, he slowly gained confidence and skills and today directs and produces videos. He has full-length feature documentaries and an Emmy to his credit. In “The Unknown Adventurer,” he recounts how his many failures contributed to his many successes.
The strength of the book is its stories. My favorite is the chapter on how he met, wooed, and married his Italian wife Stefania. They met on the beach in Costa Rica. Two weeks later, Barry chucked it all in LA and followed his heart to Stefania’s native Rome. Contemplating marriage, he thought it best to ask Stefania’s mother for permission. Broaching the subject over lunch, Barry’s future mother-in-law was utterly confounded why she was being asked before her daughter. Picking up the phone, she called her daughter and said, “Why is your boyfriend asking me if you want to marry him?”
All books, even personal memoirs, benefit from critical review and editing. An editor might have suggested that Barry tone down the moralizing and certainly should have caught the grammatical and factual errors. Despite these quibbles, FOBs (Friends of Barry) will enjoy his many stories, well-told.

[Frank A3 · Rating 5 out of 5]

Just finished reading *The Unknown Adventurer*. Excellent! Even the final sentence hit home, as another reflection of my past as well, and how I always used to look at my school years, after my father moved us to the States in 1972 as the part of my life I would rather forget than recollect, especially going to school and all the nightmares it entailed for me. Your story gives me a new vision fir the possible future and a new way of looking at my past.👍🏻
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