What do you think?
Rate this book
Deep Adventure: The Way of Heroic Virtue
Jesus stands on the road beside you now and says, "Where are you going?" Are you ready to enter into Deep Adventure? Are you ready to take up your cross and follow him? Are you ready to let virtue propel you into the wild adventure of God's will? Are you ready to walk the Way of Heroic Virtue?
Host of EWTN’s “Deep Adventure Radio,” and two-time Masters World Champion Surfer, Bear Woznick is the Adventure Guide for Deep Adventure Quest Retreats, where people step out of their comfort zone and into the danger zone of God’s will. In Deep Adventure: The Way of Heroic Virtue, Bear shares his real-life adventures as a way to challenge you to go deeper with God and live a life of virtue. Pulse-pounding stories of ocean rescues, huge waves and deadly encounters with sharks show us that when people abandon themselves to God, they do not become some soft, pastel version of themselves. On the contrary, a life lived in pursuit of God’s will is the boldest, most rewarding way possible to live. If you’re tired of being spoon-fed the message that you just need to be “nicer,” this book is for you.
You know deep inside that you are meant for more. You feel the call to be valiant and heroic for your loved ones and for the world. What you seek is profound, but you want a clearer goal and the means to accomplish that. Join us on this quest. Abandoning yourself to God’s will takes every ounce of your courage and dedication. You will be tested, but Jesus is the one calling and he will empower you in ways you’ve never even imagined.
Host of EWTN’s “Deep Adventure Radio,” and two-time Masters World Champion Surfer, Bear Woznick is the Adventure Guide for Deep Adventure Quest Retreats, where people step out of their comfort zone and into the danger zone of God’s will. In Deep Adventure: The Way of Heroic Virtue, Bear shares his real-life adventures as a way to challenge you to go deeper with God and live a life of virtue. Pulse-pounding stories of ocean rescues, huge waves and deadly encounters with sharks show us that when people abandon themselves to God, they do not become some soft, pastel version of themselves. On the contrary, a life lived in pursuit of God’s will is the boldest, most rewarding way possible to live. If you’re tired of being spoon-fed the message that you just need to be “nicer,” this book is for you.
You know deep inside that you are meant for more. You feel the call to be valiant and heroic for your loved ones and for the world. What you seek is profound, but you want a clearer goal and the means to accomplish that. Join us on this quest. Abandoning yourself to God’s will takes every ounce of your courage and dedication. You will be tested, but Jesus is the one calling and he will empower you in ways you’ve never even imagined.
176 pages, Paperback
First published May 27, 2016
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews
January 8, 2017
By far the worst Christian book I've read. The only good bits of information contained in this book are references to the Catechism and other Christian works. Organization of the book is OK, but the arguments, points of view, and stories bring no value to the reader.
Almost all of the stories convey a self-exalting view of the author, where he is always the hero, the professional, the expert, the one in charge of the situation. No humility detected at all from the author, which takes away from his credibility as a Christian writer. The following is an excerpt from the ending of one of his stories, where he saves a couple from the ocean:
"She rushes to me, giving me the biggest hug. 'You're my hero. You really saved our lives! What can we do for you?' She can't resist hugging me again. I appreciate her gratitude, but it is starting to get embarrassing. 'Thank you. Thank you. Thank you,' she gushes. [...] She gives me one more hug and undoes her leash. I pull her board up on the shore as she runs toward him. He never turns or lifts a hand in thanks, even as she approaches him, calling his name in relief. The man's response isn't unusual. I've rescued many people and the reaction of this couple is a perfect example of the two different types of responses I've seen."
There is also a huge mistake in the author's definition of eros type of love which he uses in order to state a point. This is how he used eros type love: "We ascend toward God in eros, which is a love that desires to possess. This is eros for God." With the real definition of eros love this is just not right!
In short, I don't believe Bear Woznick should have attempted to write.
Almost all of the stories convey a self-exalting view of the author, where he is always the hero, the professional, the expert, the one in charge of the situation. No humility detected at all from the author, which takes away from his credibility as a Christian writer. The following is an excerpt from the ending of one of his stories, where he saves a couple from the ocean:
"She rushes to me, giving me the biggest hug. 'You're my hero. You really saved our lives! What can we do for you?' She can't resist hugging me again. I appreciate her gratitude, but it is starting to get embarrassing. 'Thank you. Thank you. Thank you,' she gushes. [...] She gives me one more hug and undoes her leash. I pull her board up on the shore as she runs toward him. He never turns or lifts a hand in thanks, even as she approaches him, calling his name in relief. The man's response isn't unusual. I've rescued many people and the reaction of this couple is a perfect example of the two different types of responses I've seen."
There is also a huge mistake in the author's definition of eros type of love which he uses in order to state a point. This is how he used eros type love: "We ascend toward God in eros, which is a love that desires to possess. This is eros for God." With the real definition of eros love this is just not right!
In short, I don't believe Bear Woznick should have attempted to write.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
November 19, 2016
Deep Adventure mixes autobiography, lives of the saints, and a huge sense of adventure in this book that challenges the reader to live heroically no matter what the circumstances. Woznick organized this book into sections based on the cardinal virtues (justice, temperance, prudence and fortitude) theological virtues (faith, hope and love), noting that true heroes live these virtues on a daily basis–not only under those circumstances that require dramatic rescues, but in small ways as well. This book would make a great gift for the hero in your life, or for a young adult preparing to take on the world.
February 9, 2022
Is there anything Bear Woznick can’t do? World champion surfer, ninja black belt, sky diver, incredibly clever writer, and faithful Catholic. This book was awesome! It was a peek into Hawaiian surfing as well as inspiration to pursue deeper virtue through his true stories and metaphors. Highly recommend for everyone, but especially men!
August 18, 2016
What does surfing, skydiving, and martial arts have to do with the Gospel? A lot, especially if you're Bear Woznick. Deep Adventure: The Way of Heroic Virtue looks at the seven principle virtues – justice, prudence, temperance, fortitude, faith, hope, and love – and gives advice on how to live a virtuous life. Woznick relates how his life as a surfer, pilot, and black-belt has helped him practice the virtues that saints throughout the history of the Church have practiced in their own lives.
Each virtue is explained with the help of the Catechism, then illustrated through Bear Woznick's life and the lives of holy men and women throughout history. For each virtue, Woznick challenges the reader to employ that virtue in his own life. Woven throughout the stories that relate to each virtue is a single story of a daring rescue of two inexperienced stand-up paddle boarders who, unbeknownst to them, were caught out in the ocean as a major storm approached Hawaii.
The explanations of the virtues are clear and given without pulling punches; the challenge to live each one is obvious. However, nothing here seems out-of-reach, even to a person who might not be accustomed to striving to live a heroically virtuous life. The book manages to issue the challenge to live a Christian life without feeling preachy. In fact, it makes a virtuous Christian life sound exciting and daring! And for those readers who might already have a deep desire to life a virtuous life, the stories used to illustrate each virtue are fascinating. I'm not a fan of surfing (and have no desire to try it out, to be frank), but I really loved the way Bear tied our innate desire to be united with God to surfing, skydiving, and an adventurous life.
I thoroughly enjoyed this book, and have a lot of highlighted passages that contain insights. I am now ready to pass Deep Adventure on to both my husband and older daughter (who, herself, loves adventure). I even plan to purchase a copy for my former pastor, who happens to be a surfer, too. It's been said that living a faithful Christian life is an adventure, and Bear Woznick definitely has plenty of examples to prove it!
I received a copy of this book for my honest review. I can honestly say that I loved it!
Each virtue is explained with the help of the Catechism, then illustrated through Bear Woznick's life and the lives of holy men and women throughout history. For each virtue, Woznick challenges the reader to employ that virtue in his own life. Woven throughout the stories that relate to each virtue is a single story of a daring rescue of two inexperienced stand-up paddle boarders who, unbeknownst to them, were caught out in the ocean as a major storm approached Hawaii.
The explanations of the virtues are clear and given without pulling punches; the challenge to live each one is obvious. However, nothing here seems out-of-reach, even to a person who might not be accustomed to striving to live a heroically virtuous life. The book manages to issue the challenge to live a Christian life without feeling preachy. In fact, it makes a virtuous Christian life sound exciting and daring! And for those readers who might already have a deep desire to life a virtuous life, the stories used to illustrate each virtue are fascinating. I'm not a fan of surfing (and have no desire to try it out, to be frank), but I really loved the way Bear tied our innate desire to be united with God to surfing, skydiving, and an adventurous life.
I thoroughly enjoyed this book, and have a lot of highlighted passages that contain insights. I am now ready to pass Deep Adventure on to both my husband and older daughter (who, herself, loves adventure). I even plan to purchase a copy for my former pastor, who happens to be a surfer, too. It's been said that living a faithful Christian life is an adventure, and Bear Woznick definitely has plenty of examples to prove it!
I received a copy of this book for my honest review. I can honestly say that I loved it!
June 26, 2016
Listening to EWTN I have heard conversations with Bear Woznick a couple of times and found what he had to say interesting. At the time I knew nothing about him, but found that he is a two-time Masters World Champion Surfer. He mixes his experience in this and other sports with wisdom from the Greek philosophers and the treasury of the Church.
I found his new book Deep Adventure: The Way of Heroic Virtue to be fairly worthwhile and a good read. As you would expect there are a lot of sport metaphors in regard to living the spiritual life as a Catholic. St. Paul started this trend so this is something new. Sport metaphors work quite well when done right. I once remember a book that used Hockey to good ends in this regard.
Surfing is a sport I know next to nothing about, but that didn’t keep me from enjoying what he had to say. He takes you into this world in such a way that you can really see the attraction of it. He writes about his own spiritual struggles and coming to grips with truly living his faith in contrast to the lessons he learned from trying to master sports. This all works rather well and doesn’t feel contrived at all or attempting to illustrate to much out of his surfing examples.
In addition in between chapters is a story of a rescue he performed and this makes a nice narrative thread throughout. At times I was waiting between chapters to find out what happened next.
So if extended sports metaphors don’t put you off, this is some solid spiritual reading.
I found his new book Deep Adventure: The Way of Heroic Virtue to be fairly worthwhile and a good read. As you would expect there are a lot of sport metaphors in regard to living the spiritual life as a Catholic. St. Paul started this trend so this is something new. Sport metaphors work quite well when done right. I once remember a book that used Hockey to good ends in this regard.
Surfing is a sport I know next to nothing about, but that didn’t keep me from enjoying what he had to say. He takes you into this world in such a way that you can really see the attraction of it. He writes about his own spiritual struggles and coming to grips with truly living his faith in contrast to the lessons he learned from trying to master sports. This all works rather well and doesn’t feel contrived at all or attempting to illustrate to much out of his surfing examples.
In addition in between chapters is a story of a rescue he performed and this makes a nice narrative thread throughout. At times I was waiting between chapters to find out what happened next.
So if extended sports metaphors don’t put you off, this is some solid spiritual reading.
January 8, 2020
This is a fun to read book about surfing experiences by a championship surfer. It's also a book that helps explain to Christians the seven virtues of fortitude, love, hope, faith, temperance, prudence and justice while offering examples from his life that help connect ideological ideas to life. It reads well and is a page turner that captures your attention with impending disaster.
June 18, 2016
Bear has a way of telling an adventurous story and inserting God into the lesson behind the story. If you loved his first book, then this is a definite must have. Can't wait for the Deep Adventure series on EWTN.
Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews