I really enjoyed this book. Though it's twice the length of his first, I managed to finish it within 24 hours. It was well worth giving up half a night of sleep.
To be fair, I am not an unbiased reviewer. I have been following Neil's blog for at least eight years, and am mentioned in the book as he recounts the building of Gleda (GLAY-duh), his 38-foot Wharram catamaran. I can't give the perspective of a new reader. But this background gives me perspective on what this work offers beyond reading his blog.
It's recommended in the book to read the first in this series,
A Foolish Voyage
, before this. I agree. That book is a shorter, quicker read, also excellent, and gives a great deal more perspective into the events covered here.
Here's an overview of the book and what I got out of it.
Part One continues where A Foolish Voyage left off, and covers the roughly twenty years between owning his first boat and the building of Gleda. It was engaging. Though I have experienced few of the specific events he describes, it's somehow relatable. It's a story of real life, ups and downs, gains and losses, and ultimately rediscovering his dream pursued and lost twenty years prior.
Although I've followed Neil's writing for several years, these events were largely unknown to me. It gives deeper perspective on his life and what inspired him to build Gleda. The events throughout the build itself also gained greater depth given this context.
Part Two covers the building of Gleda. This is the era I was familiar with, having read his entire blog (several hundred posts) start to finish twice before. In the book he summarizes the build using quoted blog posts interspersed with new background and commentary. This gives greater depth to the story than what was shared at the time in the blog.
Reading it through in a more condensed form also makes clear the transformation he went through over the course of the build. Even two years from finishing, it was striking how much he (and his life) had changed from the start. He was earning money in completely different ways, more in alignment with his values and his future. He had different (better) relationships. He was truly well on the path.
What makes it all the more striking is that this is not a story of easy accomplishment. There were delays and setbacks, some circumstantial and some self-imposed. It's one of the things I find most inspiring about Neil's story. It's relatable. It's not a story of superhuman success few of us could hope to emulate. It's a story of how normal, everyday people can put one foot in front of the other, and inevitably accomplish seemingly amazing feats.
Part Three covers the time from launching Gleda to preparations for sailing south. One of the lessons I took from this section relates to what I just described about everyday relatable success. Yes, he describes intense fulfillment and satisfaction at having accomplished his goal of building Gleda and getting her on the water. But he also shares the ongoing challenges and stress that came as a surprise, thinking the difficulty of the build was behind him. Again, this makes the story real and relatable. Things are never perfect, and just because one dream has been achieved doesn't mean there won't be additional (significant) challenges to face going forward, to continue living that dream. But again by putting one foot in front of the other, Neil perseveres and shows us what is possible, and that the work is well worth it.
I enjoyed the book. I'll be reading it again, and look forward to the next one. Buy it now (along with
A Foolish Voyage
) and enjoy!
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Top reviews from other countries
Jack Bogong
Wonerful book, written with feeling!
Reviewed in Australia on October 2, 2020Mrs. Olga A. Danes-volkov
Phew! What a daunting task!
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on August 10, 2021