Sometimes all you need to turn hope into action is to write your promises down and say them out loud-to make a promise to no one but yourself. This book is about many things-faith, courage, creativity, determination-but above all it's about the promises we make to ourselves about the future. These stories will inspire you to believe in yourself and to believe in the power that each and every one of us has to shape our lives through the power of "I Will."

Patrick Moser is the editor of Pacific Passages: An Anthology of Surf Writing (University of Hawaii Press, 2008). He collaborated with Shaun Tomson on Surfer's Code: 12 Simple Lessons for Riding through Life and has written articles for The Surfer's Journal and Surfer. He currently teaches writing and French language at Drury University in Springfield, Missouri, where he also offers a course on the history and culture of surfing.