The Way Out

About the Book

Life has been a great adventure for Rick Elkins. A former US Navy fighter pilot during World War II, an airline pilot, and a consummate biker, he has never been afraid of taking risks. But though his mind is still sharp, his eighty-three-year-old body is not. Unless he proceeds with a risky surgery, heart failure awaits him.

Rick decides against the surgery, wanting his remaining time on Earth free of doctors and hospitals. But nearing the end triggers a time of sober reflection, and in his mind he travels back to the end of World War II, when he started his career as a pilot. It was then that he developed a love for motorcycles—and for Angie Mertz, a beautiful stewardess who later becomes his wife.

Tragedy struck after only a year of marriage, however, when an auto accident claimed Angie’s life. Rick, distraught, took an extended leave from his job and took his Harley-Davison motorcycle on a long road trip to California, where he met Annette, a fellow biker. Their on-and-off affair—and the events that followed—would alter Rick’s world in a way he never expected.

Now that Rick is old, alone, and unable to do the things he loves, he’s ready to bow out gracefully. But then someone comes into his life that just might change his way of thinking about the way out.

About the Author

Dick Elder was born in 1927 and grew up in northeastern Ohio. He trained as a combat air crewman during World War II. Elder graduated from the Ohio State University in 1949. In 1960, he moved to Durango, Colorado; built a dude ranch; and operated it for thirty-seven years. Dick is the author of the novel, Lovers & Liars, It Sure Beats Working, a collection of short stories and poetry, and his memoir, Which Way is West. These books are also available as E-books.