Back Under Sail: Recovering the Spirit of Adventure

by Migael Scherer

Having lived aboard a sailboat for several years, Migael Scherer had never before raced over water. So when an invitation came to join a six-person crew on a race, she said yes. Three years prior, Scherer's life had almost ended in a violent, near-fatal rape; the race becomes a personal voyage of recovery. She addresses the wonders and horrors, beauty and dangers of both the natural and “civilized” world. Throughout, she keeps an account of the race and its intricacies with the knowledge of a seasoned sailor and the freshness of a novice racer. Photographs and her story illuminate Scherer's successful struggle to recapture her love of life.

264 pages, Hardcover

First published September 18, 2003

About the author

Migael Scherer is the author of four books and numerous essays that range from the literary to the practical. Her first book, Still Loved by the Sun: A Rape Survivor's Journal, won a Pacific Northwest Booksellers Association Award and a PEN/Albrand citation for distinguished nonfiction. Back Under Sail: Recovering the Spirit of Adventure is her most recent publication. An experienced mariner, she also wrote the first comprehensive cruising guide to Puget Sound and the San Juan Islands, now in its second edition.

Scherer served for over a decade as a lecturer and program consultant to the Dart Center for Journalism and Trauma at the University of Washington in Seattle, teaching journalists how to cover traumatic events in ways that are sensitive to victims and survivors. She also directed the Dart Award for Excellence in Reporting on Victims of Violence. Scherer currently works as a literacy coach for the Seattle School District.

(from http://www.counterbalancearts.org/spe...)

Reviews

[Naomi · Rating 4 out of 5]

Well written. Currently living in Juneau, I loved reading about the Juneau area from her perspective and how sailing help deal with something so traumatic in her life.