The Surfer and the Sage

Santa Barbara’s Surfer and Sage

Wave-Riding Champ Shaun Tomson and Philosopher-Poet Noah benShea Pen Pandemic Pick-Me-Up Book

By Keith Hamm | June 2, 2022

Emerging from the lingering pandemic, an upbeat new book ​— ​and first-time collaboration ​— ​by Shaun Tomson and Noah benShea hits coffee tables and nightstands this month. While Tomson and benShea share little by way of upbringing ​— ​Tomson grew up surfing in South Africa as benShea followed scholarly paths from his native Canada ​— ​their mutual interest in bettering the often-bleak outlooks of the audiences they speak to brought them together as coronavirus uncertainties spread worldwide.

Published by family-focused Familius, The Surfer and the Sage: A Guide to Survive & Ride Life’s Waves is a compact self-help collection of insights, poems, and vignettes that take on 18 life dualities chaptered across 196 pages ​— ​from “Despair and Hope” to “Isolated and Connected” to “Fear and Courage,” with dozens of color photographs by Santa Barbara–based Dan Merkel. For the chapter themes, “We put the negative before the positive so people can see that there’s a path ​— ​moving from despair to hope, for example,” explains Tomson. “It’s about finding your footing, keeping your balance.”

For Tomson, who started surfing competitively at 12 and captured the 1977 world title a decade later, the book advances his work as a pro surfer turned motivational speaker. But more importantly, it’s the ongoing effort of a grieving father using his reach and experience to help people, especially teens, make better decisions. In 2006, Tomson’s son Mathew, 15 at the time, died while playing a “choking game” that restricts oxygen to the brain, according to news reports. In The Surfer and the Sage, Tomson describes regaining his faith after that terrible loss. This is his third book.