“I can’t decide what impressed me the most about Avrel Seale’s wonderfully engaging The River Nuts, the engineering feat of retrofitting a tandem pedal kayak to accommodate his body impaired by a stroke, or the journey itself through the harsh Texas elements of rain, heat, alligators, and rabid wolf spiders. Seale chronicles his experience with grace and laugh-aloud humor, but as in every great river journey from Huckleberry Finn to Goodbye to a River, the author discovers more about himself as he dives into a deep reservoir of courage and perseverance and friendship with fellow kayaker Wade Walker. Can anything match the beauty of seeing wild swans on a muddy river? I couldn’t put this book down.” - Thomas Zigal, award-winning author of Many Rivers to Cross"The pages of The River Nuts are infused with elegant writing, humor, and humanity. They also contain insightful musings on the natural world of South Texas and the pliability of the human spirit. Avrel Seale is stubborn, obstinate, and possibly insane. But his exuberant account of watery travel is irresistibly uplifting. There are tales of sailors battling the elements, stories that end in nautical calamity, and those that record maritime triumph. The humble Nueces River manages to serve up portions of all three. By the time his curious vessel reaches the coast, I was ready to start singing a sea shanty." - Geoffrey Leavenworth, author of Isle of Misfortune