For what he could become : a story of war, friendship, alcoholism, homelessness, and the

"The story is about Bill Williams, half Irish, half Athabaskan Indian who leaves his native village after a disastrous bear hunt, works on a Yukon Riverboat, searches for gold, helps build the AlCan Highway and goes to war in 1942. Surviving the Battle of the Bulge, he returns to find the village sterile, his girlfriend married to his brother, and the lifestyle not conducive to one who has fought a war through Belgium and Germany. He moves to Anchorage where, after a series of mishaps, he becomes a derelict, suffers alcoholism, unemployment, and homelessness. The untimely death of his dominating brother causes the widow, a woman he has waited for all his life, to give him a second big chance at love, life, and happiness, and shoves him into the Last Great Race on Earth, the Iditarod Sled Dog Race."--Amazon.com "When Bill Williams, a half Irish, half Athabaskan Indian, left his native Alaskan village after a disastrous bear hunt, he left behind not only the only home he had ever known, but also the girl he loved. It was then that the true adventure of his life began. He worked on a Yukon riverboat, searched for gold, and took a job building the Alaskan Highway. When the country became involved in World War II, Bill signed up to fight and was immediately sent overseas. The experiences of war were devastating and the trauma left him with deep indelible scars. After surviving the Battle of the Bulge, Bill returned home only to discover that his girlfriend was married to his brother and the village was no longer a welcome place for him. At this point, Bill's life takes a downward plunge into a world of alcoholism, unemployment, and homelessness. But an unlikely series of events suddenly sheds a beacon of light on the hopelessness of his life, and he is given a second chance at love and happiness when his old girlfriend, now a widow, offers him a team to run in the first one-thousand-mile Iditarod sled dog race - but only if he can rise to the challenge."--Provided by publisher When Bill Williams, a half Irish, half Athabaskan Indian, left his native Alaskan village after a disastrous bear hunt, he left behind not only the only home he had ever known, but also the girl he loved. It was then that the true adventure of his life began. He worked on a Yukon riverboat, searched for gold, and took a job building the Alaskan Highway. When the country became involved in World War II, Bill signed up to fight and was immediately sent overseas. The experiences of war were devastating and the trauma left him with deep indelible scars. After surviving the Battle of the Bulge, Bill returned home only to discover that his girlfriend was married to his brother and the village was no longer a welcome place for him. At this point, Bills life takes a downward plunge into a world of alcoholism, unemployment, and homelessness. But an unlikely series of events suddenly sheds a beacon of light on the hopelessness of his life, and he is given a second chance at love and happinessbut only if he rises to the challenge. Bill Williams noticed that there was no sound in the woodsno bird calls, no squirrel chirring.