Book Review: Sea Wife | Amity Gaige

September 25, 2020 in Books, Uncategorized - No Comments


Sea Wife by Amity Gaige is a sailing story, but more than that, it’s the story of a marriage and the collision with mid-life. Michael and Juliet are in the thick of it–careers, suburban living, parenting two young kids, and a fledgling marriage. Michael informs Juliet that he wants to leave his job, buy a sailboat in Panama, and point the bow toward the open sea as a family.

While sailing is the backdrop and the boat, Juliet, provides a rich setting. This is a story about two people who are struggling to find their way as individuals and as a couple. And, if you want to reveal the cracks in a relationship, stick the people on a forty-four foot boat, about which neither one knows very much. You don’t have to look too far for conflict to drive a story forward.

It’s impressive that Ms. Gaige was not a sailor prior to writing this book. Her command of the lingo had me assuming she’d been a sailor for awhile. And, she definitely tapped into the archetypes of the sailing couple–he wants an adventure, she is a reluctant participant. Personally, I find that trope a bit tired, but that’s because I encounter people all the time who assume I’m Tim’s reluctant participant. Snore.

But, back to the book. Ms. Gaige captures the beauty of a passage–usually through Michael’s eyes, and the frustration and fear of a passage–usually through Juliet’s eyes. Although, the pendulum swings both ways, and Juliet, due to circumstances beyond her control does become a sailor in her own right.

This would be a good read for people in the higher latitudes once they put their boats on the hard for the winter. This book came recommended by Anne Bogel of Modern Mrs. Darcy fame and got a good review in the New York Times. And now by me. It’s worth a read!

gntsailing

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Meet Gretchen & Tim

Meanwhile, over on Instagram

#reunited with his true love ❤️
One boat goes into storage and the other one comes out of her winter home. Tim is reunited with his favorite boat, Sprinkles, our #rhodes19 🔹 Time to get her tuned up for racing in Chicago and New Orleans. #sailing #sailinglife #dingysailing #onedesignracing
The mighty crew of Felicità has made it home to the North Woods of Wisconsin. 🔹 We visited family and friends in Arizona, Nevada, and Colorado 🚗. Celebrated my nephew’s graduation 🎓, got haircuts 💇‍♀️, did some big repairs to the Volvo 🤑, and managed to dodge Covid even though we had a close call 😷. 🔹 We have lots going on this summer, but for now we’re happy to sit still for a minute. And before we know it, it’ll be October and time to return to our girl ⛵️ . #homesweethome #wisconsin
‼️ Auntie brag alert ‼️ One of the reasons we hauled the boat out so early in May was to make sure I was in Colorado to watch my favorite nephew, Beres, set foot into his next chapter. @templeuniv , you’re lucky to have this fine young man headed your way! #goowls #templeuniversity #thefutureisbright
The Hoover Dam tour is well worth the trip. 🔹The only thing that was SUPER weird was the complete lack of acknowledgement that the water levels are dropping to drastic levels. #nothingtoseehere 🙈🙊🙉 #hooverdam #waterreclamation #nowater #lakemead
I’m making Tim do tourist stuff today as we make our slow way home to Wisconsin. 🤣 #hooverdam #visitingmom
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