• Home Is Forward

  • Hiking and Travel Adventures from Around the World
  • By: Gary Sizer
  • Narrated by: Gary Sizer
  • Length: 5 hrs and 2 mins
  • 4.6 out of 5 stars (185 ratings)

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Home Is Forward  By  cover art

Home Is Forward

By: Gary Sizer
Narrated by: Gary Sizer
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Publisher's summary

Have you ever wanted to visit Machu Picchu, or witness the Northern Lights? To explore remote landscapes where no boot has tread, no shutter ever snapped? You can....

Before he became Green Giant on the Appalachian Trail, Gary Sizer was a Marine, a computer nerd, and a guy with a problem. No matter how much time he spends outside, it's never enough. Whether being thrashed by drill instructors at Parris Island or drenched by a squall in a high tundra, the same calming thought always prevailed: It's good to be outside.

Home is Forward is much more than a collection of travel stories. It answers the question of how someone can go from having a (somewhat) normal life to casting it all aside and wanting to go live in the woods.

Hilarious, poetic and often thoughtful, Home Is Forward is also a story about people. From ancient ruins to frozen volcanos, lessons are learned, friendships are forged, and on top of it all, love blooms.

So if you yearn to visit far-off lands, or simply love a well spun tale, you're in the right place.

©2017 Gary Sizer (P)2017 Gary Sizer

Featured Article: The Best Hiking Audiobooks


Hiking is a time-honored way to appreciate and learn about nature while improving your physical and mental health. But even if you can't get out on the trail yourself at the moment, these hiking audiobooks will give you a greater appreciation for the sport. Hiking's broad appeal and long history have formed the basis of many compelling works of nonfiction. They run the gamut from intense stories of survival and perseverance to gentle explorations of the healing power of nature. Each of these hiking audiobooks is perfect whether you are out on a hike or sitting behind the wheel of a car.

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What listeners say about Home Is Forward

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

The book that will make you want to explore!

From his time in the military, to his trip to Iceland , Gary Sizer captivates the audience and brings you along into his adventures. I was really impressed with Gary's stories and his writing. He was witty and funny and explained his trips in an engaging way where you didn't need to be a hiker in order to understand what he was explaining.

Gary also narrated his book and he had a nice easy flow. His use of accents for other people was spot on and it never felt like he was forcing anything.

I really enjoyed his journey and felt like I was along for the ride. I'm excited to hear about his other adventures in the future and to enjoy another journey with him.

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4 people found this helpful

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    2 out of 5 stars
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    3 out of 5 stars
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Meh. This was touristy “adventure”.

I liked the style and tone of the book. But there really wasn’t much adventure. More like edgy tourism. There should have been more about his relationship - would have made the ending more punctuated. I’d pass on this if I were you.

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2 people found this helpful

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    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

A great read from start to finish.

So there are some pretty solid reviews for this book, and I am going to try to not repeat things from other reviews. After the first fifteen minutes of listening I was hooked, but I started to think the book was going to be to short. After finishing it, I think it was just right. Gary takes us through his life up until he starts his hike on the Appalachian Trail. It doesn't matter which of his books you read first, it will make sense either way.

Gary does an amazing job at making you feel like you are there with him on his adventures. I think it's the way he brings the characters to life with the way he voices everyone. It sounds like he put a lot of time into getting the accents and inflections correct. And he gets the balance just right, again, with reading the book to you, and telling you the story in a conversational way. The way only the author of the book can, but he he does it the right way.

It's also pretty fast paced, in Where's the Next Shelter, it's a continual story where you are with him for every step. In Home is Forward, he sorta jumps from one adventure to the next, and he does a great job at keeping the narrative moving but steady. One story flows into the next.

If you liked Where's the next Shelter, this will be a really fun read, getting to hear kinda the back story. If you never read his other book, this is a great travel adventure book on it's own. So either way you should get this book.

I can't wait to hear about what he is going to do next.

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2 people found this helpful

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    2 out of 5 stars
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snore..zzzzz

this book put me to sleep from boredom. may be great alternative to sleeping pills.

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1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

awesome adventure from a real traveler

I love how Gary takes you on an adventure for the mind. I couldn't stop listening to it while I was on my solo adventure on a multi state drive. if you haven't checked out his other book I would finish this one then get the his next book.

I hope one day to catch him on the trail!

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1 person found this helpful

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    5 out of 5 stars
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Outstanding!!

Excellent work, a must!!! Many times throughout, I felt like I was there. Truly, an adventurers tale.

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1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars
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A pleasant surprise

I enjoyed this anthology of adventures. It made for pleasurable listening in the car. I do have one criticism, albeit a minor one: he consistently mispronounces Newfoundland. Surely if Sizer spent that much time there he must have been politely informed, at least once, that it is NewfoundLAND not Newfndlnd, as he says, over and over.

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1 person found this helpful

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    5 out of 5 stars
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SO much fun.

This was a great book to listen to on a road trip. The adventurous stories and good humor made the driving fly by. Equally as great as his first book! I hope there will be more.

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1 person found this helpful

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Years of adventure for your ears!

Laugh-out-loud funny, inspirational, varied, poetic, and full of true love for adventure and the outdoors. "Home is Forward" had me wanting to grab some friends and get out there right now.
The author has spent decades wandering the earth, repeatedly rejoining society and starting yet another promising career... then ditching it all to go slouch down a wild river or lead gumbies through the backcountry to (hopefully) shout "Bang!" at someone or sleep in the dirt under some remote stars... and lived to tell this campfire-tale.

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So nice I’ve listened twice!

I really enjoy Gary’s zest for life and the story telling to go with it. I’ve already listened to his other book “Where’s the Next Shelter” three times. My only hope is at some-point we get another gem from Green Giant himself.

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