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Steered by the Falling Stars: A Fathers Journey
The author recounts his experiences sailing south to Florida along the Atlantic coast with his family
- GenresTravel
248 pages, Paperback
Published January 1, 1995
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Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
July 19, 2016
I found this book delightful in many ways. The author, whose life story is told in well-placed tidbits throughout the story, sets out in a sailboat from Newport, Rhode Island, cruises as far north as Lubec, Maine, then turns around and cruises all the way to Key West, Florida. He is accompanied by his relatively new bride, and at various times his children by a prior marriage are also aboard. Much of the trip is along the route of the Atlantic Intracoastal Waterway.
When the journey touched parts of the ICW that I have also traversed, it was rather like a visit home for me. He made this trip in the early 90's, before such a thing had ever occurred to me, and much has changed in the ensuing years. However, the waterway has retained its fundamental character through all the changes, and I found it comforting to recognize so much of the terrain.
I also enjoyed reading about the adjustments the couple made along the way. My husband and I had to do the same thing. The details are always unique to each boat, but the underlying fact that living on a boat is very different from living in a house makes it necessary for people to learn new skills and new things about getting along with each other.
The subtitle, "A Father's Journey" intrigued me, but the meaning of it was very different from my expectations. Life threw this man a couple of curves, one in death, and one in life. He often relates raw truths about dealing with both death and life, yet he always enjoys life's funny little oddities. I think traversing the ICW without needing to endure either the frigid winter on the ICW in November and December or the stupifying heat and humidity of south Florida in June allowed me to laugh at some things that would not have seemed funny to me under different circumstances.
I felt honored that the author shared so much of himself in the story, and he had a very graceful way of describing the inevitable frictions that arise when two people live together day after day in such close quarters. He also had a self-deprecating style that allowed him to narrate grounding after grounding without losing track of the important things. The most important thing was the revelation of himself and his relationship with his son, and the way he dealt with that terrible loss.
The humanity of this story will appeal to anyone, and the details of his sailing adventure will ring true with anyone who ever cruised, even for a short while. This book deserves your time, and it won't waste any of it.
When the journey touched parts of the ICW that I have also traversed, it was rather like a visit home for me. He made this trip in the early 90's, before such a thing had ever occurred to me, and much has changed in the ensuing years. However, the waterway has retained its fundamental character through all the changes, and I found it comforting to recognize so much of the terrain.
I also enjoyed reading about the adjustments the couple made along the way. My husband and I had to do the same thing. The details are always unique to each boat, but the underlying fact that living on a boat is very different from living in a house makes it necessary for people to learn new skills and new things about getting along with each other.
The subtitle, "A Father's Journey" intrigued me, but the meaning of it was very different from my expectations. Life threw this man a couple of curves, one in death, and one in life. He often relates raw truths about dealing with both death and life, yet he always enjoys life's funny little oddities. I think traversing the ICW without needing to endure either the frigid winter on the ICW in November and December or the stupifying heat and humidity of south Florida in June allowed me to laugh at some things that would not have seemed funny to me under different circumstances.
I felt honored that the author shared so much of himself in the story, and he had a very graceful way of describing the inevitable frictions that arise when two people live together day after day in such close quarters. He also had a self-deprecating style that allowed him to narrate grounding after grounding without losing track of the important things. The most important thing was the revelation of himself and his relationship with his son, and the way he dealt with that terrible loss.
The humanity of this story will appeal to anyone, and the details of his sailing adventure will ring true with anyone who ever cruised, even for a short while. This book deserves your time, and it won't waste any of it.
September 1, 2014
Great story of a life underway, but the most interesting part is his vivid descriptions of life in prison for fraud.
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews