When Californians John Silverwood and his wife Jean decided to take their four children on a sail around the world on their fifty-five-foot catamaran, Emerald Jane, they could not foresee the range of adventure that awaited them. The pressures of a family and a marriage in such cramped quarters were nothing compared to the terrifying forces of nature. But while in the South Pacific, just as it seemed to them that they had mastered every challenge, their world was shattered in a split second of unimaginable horror. Now the real test began, forcing them to fight for their very lives.
A two-year sailing trip for John and Jean Silverwood and their four children ends when they crash into a coral reef in the Pacific Ocean and are stranded. They have survived pirates, storms, and family arguments. Ironically, their boat's destruction brings them closer. Carrington MacDuffie expresses Jean's excitement at global scenic spots, her pride in son Ben's growing maturity, and her disappointment at her husband's slips from sobriety. Joe Barrett, as John, picks up the story with the aftermath of the crash, the amputation of his leg, and the story of an 1857 wreck on the same reef. Husky-voiced and volatile, John is obviously the more emotional of the two parents. Both narrators deliver foreign accents well, and their dual reading makes this loosely organized adventure tale special. J.B.G. (c) AudioFile 2008, Portland, Maine
Publishers Weekly...
"Jean wears her heart on her sleeve, and her writing about her marital problems or John's alcoholic relapses is honest. John's narrative...gives an eye-opening account of how much and how little sea travel has changed in 150 years and accentuates the heroism of this family that overcame an extraordinary ordeal."
About the Author
JEAN AND JOHN SILVERWOOD live in California with their four children.
