The Motion of the Ocean: 1 Small Boat, 2 Average Lovers, and a Woman's Search for the Meaning of Wife
Author:
Genres: Biographies & Memoirs, Sports & Outdoors, Travel
Book Type: Paperback
Author:
Genres: Biographies & Memoirs, Sports & Outdoors, Travel
Book Type: Paperback
Kim V. reviewed on + 54 more book reviews
Hopping off the hamster wheel daily grind to sail away to Margaritaville is a common dream. For most this nautical desire never goes beyond the fleeting thought stage. For Graeme and Janna Cawrse Esarey it was reality for two and half years. Stuck in a relational and career rut, Graeme and Janna decide to embark on a B-HAG (Big Hairy Audacious Goal): to sail away to the South Pacific.
The Motion of the Ocean is more than just a travel-adventure drama, however, rather it is a real life love story set on the Pacific Ocean. And just like the unpredictable course of the ocean waves, so too are the currents of couplehood. Esarey's writing is at turns confessional and deeply moving. She admits that "sometimes the space between people feels totally innavigable . . . . Right now I'm having a hard time just navigating the islands of me and Graeme - the person I love, the person I thought I knew best in the world." Later, she discovers that "even though the honeymoon ends, so too, do the storms. We just have to stick around long enough."
In other parts, the memoir reads more like a comedy. When describing their Labrador retriever Scout's refusal to be "sailbroken" Esarey channels Dr. Seuss: "She will not pee on a mat. She will not pee on a hat. She will not pee on a boat. She will not pee on a coat. She does not like our green mat plan. She does not like it, Janna and Graeme."
After the trip's termination, Esarey reflects upon the accomplishment of many personal goals: escaping her workaholic lifestyle; fulfilling her youthful dream of sailing to the Southern Cross; and finding her personal purpose (becoming a writer). While Esarey takes pride in these achievements, she professes that, "It's not so important what Graeme and I did . . . its more important how we did it . . . . By giving to each other, by relying on each other, by seeking support when each other wasn't enough." In short, "life's biggest, hairiest, most audacious goal . . . [may be] Figuring out how to make love last.
The Motion of the Ocean is the perfect Staycation read!
The Motion of the Ocean is more than just a travel-adventure drama, however, rather it is a real life love story set on the Pacific Ocean. And just like the unpredictable course of the ocean waves, so too are the currents of couplehood. Esarey's writing is at turns confessional and deeply moving. She admits that "sometimes the space between people feels totally innavigable . . . . Right now I'm having a hard time just navigating the islands of me and Graeme - the person I love, the person I thought I knew best in the world." Later, she discovers that "even though the honeymoon ends, so too, do the storms. We just have to stick around long enough."
In other parts, the memoir reads more like a comedy. When describing their Labrador retriever Scout's refusal to be "sailbroken" Esarey channels Dr. Seuss: "She will not pee on a mat. She will not pee on a hat. She will not pee on a boat. She will not pee on a coat. She does not like our green mat plan. She does not like it, Janna and Graeme."
After the trip's termination, Esarey reflects upon the accomplishment of many personal goals: escaping her workaholic lifestyle; fulfilling her youthful dream of sailing to the Southern Cross; and finding her personal purpose (becoming a writer). While Esarey takes pride in these achievements, she professes that, "It's not so important what Graeme and I did . . . its more important how we did it . . . . By giving to each other, by relying on each other, by seeking support when each other wasn't enough." In short, "life's biggest, hairiest, most audacious goal . . . [may be] Figuring out how to make love last.
The Motion of the Ocean is the perfect Staycation read!
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