Book details

  • Genre:biography & autobiography
  • Sub-genre:Personal Memoirs
  • Language:English
  • Pages:328
  • eBook ISBN:9798350991284

Into the Light!

When All Else Fails, Follow The Fish

By Sandra CH Smith

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Overview

Evading pirates and drug dealers at sea, plowing through monstrous storms...all play key roles in this second book of Sandra CH Smith's memoir trilogy about her seven-year 4,000+ mile spiritual odyssey sailing the vast Pacific. Continuing her mostly solo sailing and landlubber adventures which began in OUT OF THE FOG!, her rebellious teenage daughter now joins her occasionally as crew. Mother-daughter relationships and spiritual growth are at the heart of Smith's poignant and intensely personal story of triumph over adversity. Kind Mexican fishermen help her, 12-Step recovery friends encourage her, and even perfect strangers teach her invaluable life lessons. All together, a must-read for those seeking self-awareness and personal confidence through Smith's daringly adventurous travel narrative.
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Description

Second in Smith's memoir trilogy, INTO THE LIGHT! WHEN ALL ELSE FAILS, FOLLOW THE FISH! continues the first book, OUT OF THE FOG! , recipient of the Non-Fiction Authors Assoc. recent "Gold Award" and many five-star reader reviews. In this sequel, INTO THE LIGHT!, Smith continues to amaze and astound her readers with the faith, hope and courage she acquires during her seven-year 4,000+mile spiritual odyssey sailing mostly solo in the Pacific, sometimes with her rebellious teenage daughter, always with her faithful Chihuahua. After escaping from a 16-year emotionally abusive marriage, Smith buys a 35-foot sailboat and teaches herself to sail. She celebrates her 43rd birthday, then takes off for ports unknown using just a compass, a chart and a prayer and with eight years of sobriety tucked into her new "life jacket". INTO THE LIGHT! finds the author and her daughter leaving the San Benitos Islands some 400 miles off the coast as they hurry back to the Baja to beat a life-threatening storm. Readers who enjoy travelling and adventures will sail right along with her down the Coast of Baja California, Mainland Mexico, and Central America. Book-lovers will meet wonderful Mexican fishermen, locals who don't speak English, and even perfect strangers, who offer help, friendship and companionship to Smith and her teenaged daughter all along the way. The friends they make at recovery meetings they attend prove invaluable. The two realize how small and communal our divided world really can be. They become part of a larger Community that helps them grow with grace and gratitude, one day at a time. This heart-warming true story offers hope and healing to all.
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About The Author

Sandra CH Smith is a born adventurer. From exploring dungeons as an 11- year-old American student in Scotland, to surfing, parachuting and solo European travels as a teen, the author jumps into life with both feet, eyes wide open to experience her reality. After a successful journalism career, Smith leaves a long, abusive marriage, buys a large sailboat, and teaches herself how to sail. Eschewing all modern navigational aids, and with eight years of sobriety tucked into her new "life jacket", Smith sets off with just a compass, a chart, and a prayer. Her spiritual odyssey becomes a voyage of self-discovery, as she sails over 4,000 miles of the Pacific, mostly alone, sometimes with her rebellious teenage daughter, and always with her faithful Chihooahooa. This exciting and sometimes terrifying journey brings self-awareness, confidence, and strength to mother and daughter alike. Attending 12-step recovery meetings from anchorage to anchorage, Smith and her daughter become attuned to the indigenous peoples they meet along their way and to the kind Mexican fishermen who provide help, gentle companionship and life lessons. In our divided world, the author and her teenager become part of a larger Community that helps them to grow and heal with grace and gratitude, one day, and one wave, at a time.
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