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Fisherman's Memoir Pairs Well to Celebrate National Pick Your Poison Day
“Fishing isn’t always pretty, but it’s a beautiful life,” according to Captain Kenton Geer in his memoir “Vicious Cycle: Whiskey, Women, and Water.” The edgy collection of stories about struggles on the sea — and land — is the book to pair with a stiff drink to celebrate National Pick Your Poison Day.
While the origins of the national holiday have been lost to history, the concept of “pick your poison” to order a drink was popularized in the 1860s. Of course, pick your poison can also be used to describe a choice that provides no good option. Geer recounts many of those moments during his tumultuous life as a sea captain. He left sports fishing to focus on having a family but found his relationship to the water drawing him away from the stable life he envisioned. He recounts challenges with romantic, family and crew relationships with brutal honesty, Geer is also frank about the economic challenges of commercial fishing, painful encounters with the judicial system and battles with depression.
“Vicious Cycle” juxtaposes several of the world’s most picturesque places — Hawaii, the Galapagos Islands and the Great Barrier Reef — with troubling stories of loss and hardship. Geer said the book was written for “adventurers, travelers, and those who love life upon the sea,” but he also wrote the book for those needing inspiration. Geer’s debut as an author showcases the dark waters as well as the morning light. “Scars can be a great motivator,” he said, a “reminder of what we do and do not want in our lives.” National Pick Your Poison Day is a reminder to appreciate the scars.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Kenton Geer is a fisherman who shares his stories on Instagram @viciouscyclefishing. His memoir “Vicious Cycle” was published in April by Mountain Arbor Press.
