South Away follows Meaghan Marie Hackinen and her sister in the adventure of a lifetime: bicycling from Terrace, BC down the West Coast to (almost) the tip of the Baja Peninsula. Along the way Hackinen battles with the elements in Vancouver Island’s dense northern forests and frigid Mexican deserts; encounters strange men, suicidal highways and monster trucks; and makes some emergency repairs as tires and spokes succumb to the ravages of the journey. Luckily, the pair meet some good people along the way and glean some insight about the kindness of strangers.

A rare road-trip story with two female leads, this travel memoir also chronicles an inner journey, as the author begins to better understand her relationship with her adventurous (and not-so-adventurous) family. South Away tells an engaging and personable tale, with imaginative and memorable depictions of land and sea along the ever-winding coast.

Meaghan Marie Hackinen is a Kelowna-based ultra-cyclist and writer whose two-wheeled adventures have taken her from Haida Gwaii to Mexico’s high plateaus, across Canada and the United States, and from North Cape to Tarifa along some of Europe’s highest paved roads. She competes both locally and internationally, with strong finishes in events like the Transcontinental Race, Trans Am Bike Race, NorthCape4000, and Paris-Brest-Paris brevet. Meaghan is the 2024 Tour Divide Mountain Bike Race winner and course record holder at the World 24-Hour Time Trial Championships and several bikepacking races, including The Big Lonely, BC Epic 1000, Silver State 508, and Log Driver’s Waltz. She has an MFA in Writing from the University of Saskatchewan and explores relationships, experiences on the road, and encounters with wild places in her creative non-fiction and prose.

Meaghan Marie Hackinen's profile page

• Nominated, Best Trade Non-Fiction at the Alberta Book Publishing Awards
• Short-listed, Sixth Annual Rakuten Kobo Emerging Writer Prize - Nonfiction Category

"Biking and adventure travel enthusiasts will revel in the author’s descriptions and ability to endure such an arduous trip, and find this account restores one’s faith in human goodness."
~ Library Journal

“The body of work about the unique joys of wandering the world on two wheels just keeps getting better and Meaghan Marie Hackinen’s South Away is a welcome addition to it."
~ Howard Macdonald Stewart, The Ormsby Review

“In this empowering memoir, Hackinen, an avid cyclist, recounts her first touring-bike journey…. Teens will be particularly fascinated by how the author found post-grad direction and confidence using the strength of her own two legs.”
~ Booklist

"I LOVED this memoir...! Stumped for something to read? NeWest has published this awesome Canadian memoir that’ll have you ready to pull out your own bike and set out into the world by the time your done."
~ Worn Pages and Ink Blog

"... [T]his book will be a breath of fresh air and a reminder of the hope that lies in the humanity beyond our front door, if we dare to venture beyond it."
~ All Lit Up