A Marriage at Sea: A True Story of Love, Obsession, and Shipwreck, by Sophie Elmhirst is a gripping account of a British couple, Maurice and Maralyn Bailey, who sailed the open waters of first the Atlantic Ocean, then the Pacific. What starts out as a dream of a lifetime, becomes an unimaginable nightmare.

The story briefly goes into the sailors’ backgrounds. Maurice had a sickly childhood. He grew to be a loner, socially awkward, and compulsive. Maralyn is dependable, systematic, and ambitious. They both shared a horror of wasting their lives, of living a humdrum existence. The Baileys married in December 1963 when Maurice was nearly 30, Maralyn 21.

They had a sailboat built to their specifications, a 31-foot Bermuda sloop they named Auralyn, a combination of both their names. It had a wind vane for steering, but no radio transmitter or other electronics of any kind. They sold their house, quit their jobs and, in July 1972 set sail for a journey of a lifetime.

The Baileys headed west from Hampshire, England, with a final destination of New Zealand. Marilyn, extremely organized, had made endless lists of their possessions and exactly where on the boat they were located. Maurice had taught Maralyn how to sail, but in all respects he was the captain of their vessel.

They sailed the Atlantic Ocean making landfall at many of the usual touristy places, meeting other sailors, but always returning to their solitary sailing journey. In February 1973, eight months after leaving England, they passed through the Panama Canal and began the first stage of their Pacific crossing, with their next destination the Galápagos Islands. By this time they had been sailing about six months.

Smooth sailing came to a crashing end when a sperm whale breached and severely damaged their boat. They tried briefly to stuff materials into the cracks, but it was no use, the boat could not be saved. They quickly gathered food, water, clothes, navigational tools, and their logbook. They launched the dinghy, inflated the life raft, and abandoned the Auralyn. Forty minutes from the strike of the whale, their boat sank into the unforgiving sea.

They tied the life raft to the dinghy and took turns sleeping in the more comfortable life raft. Unfortunately, their water jugs became contaminated by sea water, leaving them dependent on rain to replenish. At this point they were 300 miles east of the Galápagos Islands.

Would they have enough provisions to sustain them until they either reached land or were picked up by a passing ship? Would a ship even see them?

A Marriage at Sea held special fascination for me. My husband and I experienced a similar adventure—sold our house, bought a boat (Impunity, a Bristol 40-foot yawl), quit our jobs and, leaving Seattle, Washington, set sail for the South Pacific. Although we saw whales, they didn’t approach our boat. We did have a few rough times: storms at sea, a hurricane while in American Samoa. The Pacific Ocean is huge. In the thirty-five days it took to sail from San Diego to our first landfall in the French Marquesas, we never saw another boat or ship. I could well imagine the desperation the Baileys experienced in their 117 days adrift, exposed to the elements, utterly lacking in sufficient food and water. I’m glad I didn’t read A Marriage at Sea before we left on our sailing journey.

Side note: I wrote about our sailing experience in my memoir, Sailing with Impunity: Adventure in the South Pacific.

Riding Lessons: Things I Learned While Horsing Around by Michelle Eames is a fun and informative memoir about the author’s journey with horses.

Michelle Ames has always loved horses and acquired her first one when she was 12. From then on it has been a succession of horses. As an adult she acquired an Appoloosa she named Koda, later Kissi, a part-Arabian, then later a variety of horses including two Norwegian Fjords, one of the world’s oldest breeds.

Told with humor, the author describes her journey with horses, how she learned from them as they learned about dealing with humans. She writes of the adventures she’s experienced—both delightful and not-so-great. Michelle rides dressage, a style that emphasizes precision and harmony between the horse and rider. She’s taken lessons and writes about the different movements, hopefully executed in a controlled manner. Well, anyway, that’s the goal.

The expense of owning horses is notable. Not counting the cost of buying the animal itself, there’s a saddle and other tack, riding boots, a barn or building to shelter the horse, hay, acreage for exercise and grazing, which necessitates fencing, a truck and trailer, and regular vet and farrier (person who trims hooves) bills. Owning horses is a financial commitment. Still, for Michelle, the love of horses outweighs the costs.

The author lives in Eastern Washington so experiences some cold weather, even snow. She discusses the long winters, and later the subsequent mud. In good riding weather, she talks about long rides, even over-nighters with friends. She talks about training and the importance of going about it in slow steps, at the horse’s speed. She goes into some detail about the importance of a good-fitting saddle, both for the horse and for the human.

Horse lovers, especially those contemplating acquiring a horse, will learn a lot from the author’s experiences. As she discovers each horse’s quirks, she learns to adapt. She shares the good and bad, with humor, and always with love. She discusses teaching a horse the art of getting in and out of a trailer, about breeding, and most of all about the strong bond between a horse and its human.

Riding Lessons was a fun read. Those who have horses would enjoy it, too. It’s a book written with love, love of horses and love of the satisfaction and contentment that horses bring to their human.

When People Were Things: Harriet Beecher Stowe, Abraham Lincoln, and the Emancipation Proclamation by Lisa Waller Rogers is an extraordinary book that brings history to life.

The story begins when Abraham Lincoln was twenty-two. It tells of his early years and struggles. He had a curious mind, but his formal education was limited to a month here, a month there, amounting to about a year of institutional education. Piece by piece Lincoln taught himself about law. He earned a law degree and was admitted to the Illinois bar in 1836. He practiced law for about twenty-five years before becoming President of the United States in 1861.

When People Were Things discusses other important people who helped shape America’s attitudes toward slavery. Of particular interest to me was the story of Harriet Beecher Stowe, author of Uncle Tom’s Cabin, an anti-slavery novel that had a profound effect on attitudes toward African Americans and slavery. The book was first published in forty-one serial newspaper segments, then later published as a wildly popular book.

When People Were Things humanizes historical figures and their struggles with moral complexities. President Lincoln had a clear vision of the country’s moral obligations, but he constantly had to defend his positions with his cabinet. His presidency was often one of criticism, strife and doubt. He was battered from all sides: too radical for Democrats and not radical enough for Republicans.

Many people were involved in the abolitionist movement to end slavery and liberate enslaved individuals. Harriet Tubman, an African-American abolitionist and social activist born around March 1822, was best known for her role as a “conductor” on the Underground Railroad, where she led approximately 70 enslaved people to freedom.

In the meantime, Lincoln had his hands full with his wife, Mary. The two had nothing in common. Lincoln loved to read, contemplate. Mary loved to socialize, needed constant attention and excitement. She purchased extravagant clothes and furnishings for the White House, far exceeding their budget. They had four sons, but after their son, Willie, died Lincoln feared for his wife’s sanity.

When People Were Things is a lengthy volume at 680 pages, packed with fascinating stories and insights of the Civil War era. Author Lisa Waller Rogers highlights the moral complexities of the times, particularly about abolitionists who played significant roles in advocating for the emancipation of enslaved people. This book would be ideal reading for history students and anyone interested in this period of our nation’s history.

The Home for War Orphans by Jenna Ness, book one of three in the historical fiction “Orphans of St. Agnes” series, is a gripping novel about a group of Jewish orphans and their leader fleeing occupied France in 1940.

Sister Helen Taylor, 50, isn’t a Catholic nun as the name might imply, but is the head mistress and founder of St. Agnes Orphanage in Paris, France. The old, crumbling building is the only home some of the children can remember. Helen has faced many dangers—she was a battlefield nurse for the Red Cross, has lost a husband and child, and has many regrets. Her only focus now is to save the children in her charge from Nazis who are fast approaching the gates of Paris. Helen has been able to place some of the children in homes, but now she must get her remaining six charges to safety. It’s risky: their old German-made truck is likely to break down, funds are short, and their future uncertain.

Margot Vashon, almost 18, is the oldest child at St. Agnes’ Orphanage, but she has the comfort of having her little sister Lucie with her. Sister Helen has counted on Margot’s help for years and now Margot must take on the crucial role of helping keep these children safe while making their escape.

The group’s goal is to travel to Marseille, on the French southern boarder, board a ship to Portugal, then eventually sail to the United States. As they make their escape, we learn Helen Taylor’s story of successes and bitter failures, and of Margot’s struggle to help the younger children cope with the hardships of travel. A young French AWOL soldier joins the group, but is this going to be a hindrance or help? When Margot’s little sister gets separated from the group, they are torn between taking the time to find her and endangering the whole group from the advancing Nazis, or going on without her.

The Home for War Orphans is an inspiring novel of courage and perseverance. Much of the book concentrates on internal conflict and relationships while in the midst of traveling under the dangerous conditions of congested roads, limited supplies, and frantic efforts to escape Nazi invasion. It’s a well-written novel with surprising turns.

The Good Daughters, a novel by Joyce Maynard, is a gripping story of two families, their secrets, and the events that shaped their lives. The novel begins in New Hampshire, 1949.

The story alternates between two daughters of two different families. Ruth is the fifth daughter of Edwin and Connie Plank. Unfortunately, Ruth isn’t really close to her older sisters, has never felt like “one of them.” Although her siblings look like sisters, Ruth is slimmer and grows taller—her father calls her “his beanpole.” She loves trailing after her father on their fifth-generation family farm; is happiest in his company. She loves the animals and the growing of vegetables. Ruth is consumed with art during her childhood, and into adulthood art becomes her vocation.

Dana Dickerson was born at the same hospital, the same day, as Ruth Plank. Connie Plank, Ruth’s mother, calls them birth-sisters and every year, no matter where the Dickersons are living, the two families get together. Mrs. Dickerson clearly is not particularly interested in these reunions, but Mrs. Plank is insistent about their get-togethers. Dana’s parents are the opposite of Ruth’s. Dana’s father is a dreamer, following one scheme after another—creating inventions that never seem to pan out, writing songs that don’t go anywhere. Dana’s mother is an artist, though not recognized for her talent. Home life for the Dickerson family is a succession of rented houses that aren’t really considered “homes.” Dana and Ruth Plank, although “birth sisters” are not necessarily close, but Ruth has always had a crush on Ray, Dana’s older brother. As they mature, Ruth’s attraction to Ray grows. Dana’s dream is to attend college, and begins saving for college when she is fourteen.

Occasionally the Dickersons visit the Plank family farm in the summer when Planks’ vegetable and flower stand is in operation. Dana Dickerson and Ruth’s father talk “farming” endlessly. Dana loves everything about the farm, especially the animals, but also asks details about the propagation of fruits and vegetables.

As the story progresses we follow each family’s progress, or decline, from Ruth and Dana’s viewpoints. Raised in vastly different environments, the one thing they both desire is to succeed in their chosen vocations. Ruth appreciates and excels in art, especially human art form. Dana holds three different jobs in order to graduate from college, and eventually gets a bachelor’s degree in the College of Agriculture.

The story follows these two vastly different women as their lives take surprising turns.

I loved The Good Daughters. The relationship between the two families is fascinating, and as Ruth and Dana grow and become adults their backgrounds profoundly affect their futures in dramatic and surprising ways.

The Uncharted Flight of Olivia West by Sara Ackerman, a gripping novel inspired by real events, is about a woman aviator who competes in a race across the Pacific, from San Francisco to the Island of Oahu, Hawaii. The story toggles to another young woman who inherits land on Hawaii’s big island, Hawaii. The novel takes place alternately between 1927 and 1987.

It’s 1927 and Olivia West has learned about the Dole Air Race, a high-stakes contest to be the first to make the 2,400 mile Pacific crossing. Olivia has a pilot’s license and is also an expert on navigation. Her father, a commercial fisherman, taught her navigation, including extensive knowledge of atmospheric conditions. It soon becomes clear that only men will be accepted as pilots, but Olivia is able to participate in the race as navigator. The airplane she’ll navigate, the Malolo is 27 feet long, a little more than 9 feet high, has a 41-foot wingspan, and is covered in canvas. Only two people, a pilot and a navigator, will be in each plane. Leaving San Francisco, only five out of the seven qualifying planes will even make it up in the air. As expected, not all will survive this dangerous journey.

It’s 1987 and Wren Summers is almost flat broke when she learns she has inherited a remote piece of land on the Big Island of Hawaii. When she investigates her inheritance she finds a large old dilapidated barn and an overgrown macadamia nut grove. Her first idea is to sell the land and use the money to live on. Upon further investigation she finds clues to aviation history in the barn that could be priceless. In the meantime, Wren needs money to live on until she can sort out the mysteries she’s encountered. She finds work at a nearby senior care center. What she discovers in talking with the residents at the center are pieces of Olivia West’s story, and of her own family’s history.

I found The Uncharted Flight of Olivia West a fascinating story of bravery and of courage it took for early aviators to undertake this harrowing journey. The Dole Air Race, also known as Dole Derby, actually took place in August, 1927. Toggling from 1927 to 1987 was well done as it captured aviation history and also Hawaii’s modern-day charm.

The Geography of Desire: A Memoir of West Africa by Linda Gambill, is a richly described chronicle of one woman’s experience as a Peace Corps volunteer in The Gambia, West Africa, beginning 1979.

Linda Gambill, 24, is desperate to leave her current life in Tennessee and follow her dream of joining the Peace Corps. She leaves her menial job and a troubled relationship, and follows her dream of going to Africa. After in-country training she’s assigned a position as health worker in Medina, a devout Muslim village in The Gambia. Typical of Peace Corp tradition, Linda is given a Gambian name, Satou Sillah, but in this review I’ll use her given American name. She begins her two-year term of service with high hopes of making a difference, of helping people live healthy lives.

Almost immediately Linda runs into difficulty. Although she’s been trained in Wolof, a local dialect, most villagers in Medina speak Fula. A few of the villagers do speak Wolof, but Linda knows the importance of communicating in the local dialect, so she tries to adapt to the common language. As a health worker, Linda planned to teach health education in the village school, but soon after she arrives the rainy season begins, and the school closes.

Linda’s Gambian counter-part, called a dresser-dispenser, in charge of a health clinic, is a difficult man, set in his ways. When Linda observes that he doesn’t run a sanitary clinic—hypodermic needles are not sanitized, surfaces are not cleaned regularly—he becomes defensive and belligerent. She is appalled when she learns that half of Gambian children die before they reach the age of five. Linda attempts to teach the local women good health practices, introduce the concept of germs and the importance of washing hands with soap and water, etc., but most of them only speak Fula and don’t understand. She draws pictures as a teaching aid, but is met with laughter—the concept of learning from drawings is strange to them. Linda tries to get permission from village leadership to use a plot of land to start a community garden as a way of supplementing local diets with fresh vegetables, but is given excuses and delays.

The Geography of Desire is an interesting account of a Peace Corp volunteer’s attempt to make a difference in a community with limited resources. I was particularly interested in this book because my husband and I served in The Gambia 1979 -1981, an experience I wrote about in my memoir Tubob: Two Years in West Africa with the Peace Corps. Peace Corps brings in a new group every six months (one group is leaving as another arrives). One of the important differences in our experiences is that as a married woman I had a constant companion, a husband I could confide in and enjoy joint experiences. Although enduring loneliness and frustration, the author made impressive accomplishments and lasting friendships.

With the Enduring Tides, a new novel by Jane Kirkpatrick, Book Two of the “Women of Cannon Beach” series, is a story of resilience, redemption, and enduring friendships. The story takes place on Oregon’s North Coast, specifically Cannon Beach, in the early 1900s.

Mary Gerritse isn’t typical of many women of her time. Although happily married to John and the mother of four children, she thrives on her job as a mail carrier. Her day starts according to the ebb and flow of the ocean tides. She saddles her horse, readies her two pack horses and rides from their farm in Manzanita to Tillamook, Oregon. Along the way, she occasionally meets friends and new-comers to the area, and in addition to mail, often carries medicine or other goods to those along her route.

John Gerritse would prefer his wife to be a stay-at-home wife and mother, but he knows how much the independence of being a postmistress means to her. Still, he chafes that Mary is the principal wage-earner, leaving him with the responsibility of the children and farm during the long days of her absence.

John and Mary’s oldest daughter, Belle, 11, wants to live with Mary’s parents, but John and Mary feel she is too young to be away from them. Mary’s mother’s health is declining and her father has hired a caretaker/housekeeper, a woman with a young daughter. Belle is convinced she could help her grandparents’ situation, and John and Mary reluctantly grant their permission. On a family trip to her parents’ farm, Mary is impressed with the caretaker and feels the relationship between the young woman and Belle will be beneficial to both.

As the story develops, we learn of Mary’s friends, some of whom we’ve met in the first book of the series, Across the Crying Sands. In this small community faithful friends are treasures, and we learn, especially in hard times, how valuable loyal friendships can be. Mary’s friends draw strength from each other, help one another in tough times, rejoice together in good times. When Mary discovers troubling secrets of her family’s past, she draws strength from family and friends.

With the Enduring Tides, inspired by true events, is a heart-warming story of the strength of family and the value of loyal friends. I have read and reviewed more than a dozen of Jane Kirkpatrick’s novels and have discovered each to have gems of wisdom and valuable lessons to live by. This second book of her “Women of Cannon Beach” series is yet another inspiring novel that leaves a lasting impression of loyalty and strength found in family and friends.

Clock Without Hands, a novel by Carson McCullers (1917–1967) brings to life southern attitudes toward racial segregation during the civil-rights-era. The story takes place in a small Georgia town, 1953. Throughout the novel Black people are referred to as Negro, Negra or even the “n” word. Although jarring, it’s a sign of the times, and in context I found it acceptable.

Pharmacist J. T. Malone, 40, diagnosed with leukemia, is given a year to live. He’s a fair man, well-liked by the community. Now that he knows his life is measured, he has regrets over opportunities wasted. One of Malone’s best friends is Judge Clane.

Judge Clane, a well-respected citizen of their small Georgia town, still agonizes over the suicide of his son, also a lawyer, seventeen years earlier. When the judge thinks of his son, he feels mad, sad, cheated. They were often at odds, especially in terms of racial justice. The Judge has strong opinions, even fear, about the growing trend toward equality of the Negro. The idea of having Negro children and white children attend the same school is unconscionable; sharing a lunch counter or even a drinking fountain, ridiculous.

The judge’s grandson, Jester, on the brink of adulthood, lives with him and constantly questions his own life’s worth. He deeply resents that his father took his own life. Although Jester has every advantage, he is not happy and openly disagrees with his grandfather’s attitude toward white supremacy.

Sherman Pew, a young black man with blue eyes, lives on Judge Clane’s property and is given almost free reign. Years before, Pew saved the Judge’s life and now the young man comes and goes as he pleases. As a baby, Pew was found in a church and is obsessed about knowing who his parents were. With his blue eyes, but dark skin, it seems obvious that one of his parents was white. Sherman wavers between wanting to be noticed, yet is afraid to be noticed. Finally, he moves from his apartment on the Judge’s property to a run-down white neighborhood, upsetting the fragile balance of the town.

I found Clock Without Hands thought provoking. As a northerner, my viewpoint in 1953 on racial justice was more as a casual observer, though even in Seattle I knew there were equal housing issues. Although a teenager at the time, it simply didn’t occur to me that housing restrictions resulted in segregated schools. Now I find it unsettling to read of hatred, inequality and the obvious unfairness of Southern prejudices. This novel is a well-written story of far-reaching discrimination, and the profound effect those attitudes have on societies.

“The white man made me a lot of promises, and they only kept one. They promised to take my land, and they took it.”
—Red Cloud

The Heart of Everything That Is: The Untold Story of Red Cloud, An American Legend by Bob Drury and Tom Clavin is an in-depth, scholarly account of Red Cloud, an American Indian who defeated the United States Army in war.

In 1821, while giving birth to her first son on the banks of the Blue Water Creek, North Platte River in present-day Nebraska, an Oglala woman noticed a glowing red meteor streak across the night sky. The child came to be known as Makhpiya-luta, or Red Cloud.

Red Cloud became skilled in the way of native tradition. Warfare was considered a way of life; stealing horses from other tribes a means of exhibiting skills. They hunted the sacred buffalo, from whom they gained not only food, but clothing, material to construct tepees, and weapons. The animal itself represented Indian culture.

Red Cloud became chief among his own Oglala people, and eventually maintained authority over the Southern branches of the Cheyenne, Arapaho, and Lakota, collectively known as the Sioux.

The Indian way of life was diminishing. White settlers wanted more and more land. Gold lured people to Indian hunting grounds. To the Lakota, the Black Hills are Paha Sapa, “the heart of everything that is,” but this sacred land became the casualty of one of the most blatant land grabs in U.S. history. Treaty after treaty was broken, the Indians pushed aside as thirst for gold and more land grew. Indians were shoved onto barren land that couldn’t adequately support them. Promised rations often arrived spoiled or not delivered at all.

U. S. Army forts were erected to protect the Americans, and soldiers sent on missions to annihilate the Sioux. Seeing his way of life threatened, Red Cloud, now a powerful warrior, was forced to fight for the very existence of the Indian way of life. In 1866 Red Cloud led a successful war, the Fetterman Massacre, against the United States. The U.S. Army would not experience such a defeat again until a decade later with the Battle of the Little Bighorn, sometimes called Custer’s Last Stand.

The Heart of Everything That Is is a comprehensive study of the Indian way of life, brutal though it may seem by today’s standards. The United States made promises to its native people that it didn’t keep. Many familiar names are mentioned, people who played roles in Red Cloud’s life: mountain men such as Jim Bridger, U.S. generals like William Tecumseh Sherman, who were charged with annihilating the Sioux, fearless explorers, such as John Bozeman, and memorable warriors like Crazy Horse, whom Red Cloud groomed.

The four pillars of the Sioux nation—acknowledged by the tribe to this day—are bravery, fortitude, generosity, and wisdom. Red Cloud stood for all these pillars, attributes toward this great leader that are finally recognized in United States history.