AUTHOR SPOTLIGHT WITH AUTHOR RICHARD ACCORDINO [BIOGRAPHIES & MEMOIR/ HISTORICAL]

MEET THE AUTHOR: RICHARD ACCORDINO

Richard Accordino is a Coast Guard veteran, storyteller, and author of Outside the Gate: A Coast Guard Memoir of Mischief, Grief, and Coming Home. He served in the United States Coast Guard from 1973 to 1978 aboard the cutters Planetree and Mallow and later at a search-and-rescue station in Rockaway, New York, leaving the service as a Telephone Technician Second Class.

After the Coast Guard, Richard built a career in telecommunications, first in engineering and operations and later in sales. He is married, the proud father of three children, and remains active in his local veterans community.

Richard wrote Outside the Gate after years of encouragement from his children, who wanted him to preserve the Coast Guard stories they had grown up hearing. The memoir also became a tribute to his late sister, Laura, and a reflection on grief, resilience, responsibility, family, and the experiences that transformed a restless eighteen-year-old into the man he eventually became.

Outside the Gate!
A Coast Guard Memoir of Mischief, Grief, and Coming Home!
Biographies & Memoir!
Historical!

HE JOINED THE COAST GUARD TO FIND A WAY OUT…

Instead, he found Hawaii, wild adventures, unforgettable mischief, heartbreak, and eventually, a way home.

A funny, honest, and deeply moving memoir about growing up, losing your way, and finding where you belong.

OUTSIDE THE GATE

Where the trouble was real, the memories unforgettable, and the journey home was worth it.

When 18-year-old Richard Accordino, an angry, aimless kid from New Jersey, joined the U.S. Coast Guard, he wasn't looking for honor; he was just looking for a way out. He landed in 1970s Hawaii with no mission and a set of orders that defined his life: "FFS"—For Further Assignment.

What he found wasn't the heroic service of recruitment posters, but a chaotic, hilarious, and often dangerous world of misfits governed by what he calls the "soft bigotry of low expectations".

But the gallows humor and barracks pranks come to a sudden, heartbreaking stop with a single phone call in the middle of the night. A profound family tragedy forces the chaotic sailor to finally find his way home.

A stunningly honest, funny, and powerful story, Outside the Gate is a moving memoir about the search for purpose and what it truly means to find your place to belong.

If you're planning to join our next session, now is the perfect time to start Outside the Gate: A Coast Guard Memoir of Mischief, Grief, and Coming Home.....

Nothing feels better than being part of a discussion and knowing every twist!

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