‘If you fall far enough, its hard to know when you hit bottom. The air gets sucked out of you on the way down.’
This is an inspirational story of a family man struck down with heart
failure in his prime – just as he and his wife (and children) had
decided to sail a circuit of the Atlantic for a year. Devastated that
his plans are thwarted he endures seven operations in eight months as
procedure after procedure fails, with heart attacks in between.
Finally, he has to endure open heart surgery – and immediately makes
plans for his ‘trip’.
This is the story of an incredibly determined sailor totally unwilling
to give up his dream in the face of massive odds. Narrated with
present-tense immediacy, this is John’s account of drowning in heart
disease, fighting back to the surface and sailing on. It begins with
him flat on his back in a local health club, gasping for air. It ends
31 months and 4000 miles later when he and his family sail their boat
into Schull Harbour, Ireland.
Funny, tragic, uplifting, humorous – it will ‘speak’ not only to timid
sailors, wondering if they are brave enough to take that big step
(whatever ‘big’ is in their own terms) but also to anyone facing
immense difficulties, setbacks and even life-threatening danger in
their non-sailing lives. It is an inspirational story with a message
for everyone.
Yachting Monthly will publish an extract from the book and do an off
the page offer on the book. And the author is prepared to do talks in
the UK (he’s currently considering an invite to speak at the RGS and
the Sailor’s Society in 2009). He self-published in the USA where the
book was a finalist in the Best Book Award by USA Book News. Most
recently it was awarded an Indie Award as Best New Non-Fiction Book of
the Year.
