"Fierce Heart" by Stuart Holmes Coleman

I recently read “Fierce Heart” by Stuart Holmes Coleman (author of “Eddie Would Go” and Hawaii Regional Coordinator for the Surfrider Foundation). Coleman spent four years thoroughly researching the interwoven stories that reflect the immense cultural pride of Makaha and the west side of Oahu. Highlighted in the book are famed waterman Buffalo Keaulana and his family, the immortal Hawaiian music superstar Israel Kamakawiwo’ole, and women’s surfing pioneer Rell Sunn.

I was first introduced to Coleman’s unique writing style when I read “Eddie Would Go” soon after I moved to Hawaii. I say “unique” not as a euphemism, but because he has a way of giving the reader a lot of information and facts without boring them with an encyclopedic list of events. By retelling the heartwarming stories he was no doubt told in Makaha over a few beers at a BBQ on the beach, Coleman brings alive these larger-than-life characters and gets at the essence of what has made them so important to Makaha, to Hawaii as a whole, and in some cases, to people all over the world. As cliche as it sounds, I laughed, I cried, and I reflected on how different a place Hawaii might be had lives not been tragically cut short.

“Fierce Heart” attempts to demystify an area of Oahu that is seldom visited by tourists, or for that matter by most Oahu residents who don’t live there. Coleman does not sugar coat the problems of poverty and drugs that plague many people in the region, but he spends most of the book focusing on the cultural pride in Makaha and the historical importance of the place and its people. As one would expect, a great deal of the stories focus on surfing and water sports, which are central in the lives of the people on the west side. Coleman, through interviews with famous pioneers of surfing and legendary watermen, retells stories of the biggest swells to hit the shores, the most dangerous ocean rescues, and hair-raising encounters with tiger sharks that make it tough for the reader to ever find a real “stopping point” in the book.

Personally, I was most touched by the story of Rell Sunn, who I am ashamed to admit I had never heard of before reading the book. Rell was a pioneer in women’s surfing and helped bring female surfers the attention they deserved, both in the media and on the international stage. However, it was not Rell’s success as a surfer that got me, it was her commitment to helping the children of Makaha live better, more fulfilling lives. She started surf contests for children and was known as the “Queen of Makaha”, always being a role model for youth and guiding them away from trouble by focusing their efforts on surfing and the ocean.

But as Rell continued to work selflessly, harder and harder towards her goals, her world came crashing down when cancer attacked. A woman that tamed monster swells on a surfboard, evaded sharks leftover from the age of dinosaurs, and saved countless lives from bone-crushing waves, was suddenly struck down by relentless little hell-bent cells that attacked her body from the inside. Rell fought them off as long as one could possibly imagine, never letting cancer make her a target of pity. She traveled the world with children who would one day become some of the best surfers in the world, surfed big waves, fell in love, and lived her final days to the fullest. It’s people like Rell who remind me what is truly important in life. Thank you, Stuart, for retelling the stories of this amazing woman. If you’d like to learn more or make a donation to Rell’s causes, please visit the Rell Sunn Educational Fund.

The lives of the Keaualana family and of Bruddah Iz were told by Coleman with the same passion and commitment to honoring the stories as he did in his biography of Rell Sunn. As I’m clearly not writing this book review to be a thorough examination of every chapter, or even a comprehensive review of the book’s major themes, I will hope that you trust me when I say that you will be equally touched when you read about the Keaualanas and Kamakawiwo’oles.

I find that after reading a book that teaches you so much, certain facts and stories stand out in your memory more than others and not necessarily for obvious or predictable reasons. Whether something in those stories connects with you personally, or perhaps just with the moment or place you happen to be reading the book, it seems unlikely that any two readers will ever be moved by the same stories in the same ways. And with that said, I hope you enjoy “Fierce Heart”, I envy your position of getting to read and experience the stories for the first time, and hope you will let me know which of the stories got to you the most. Aloha!