A Pearl in the Storm

When mapmakers of the distant past came to the end of the known world, they would inscribe "Here There Be Sea Monsters." When Tori McClure attempted to row solo across the Atlantic Ocean in a 23-foot plywood boat with no motor or sail, she had no comprehension of the size of the monsters she would find. In deep solitude and perilous conditions, McClure was a loner determined to prove what one person with a mission can do. When she is finally brought to her knees by the worst hurricane season in the history of the North Atlantic, she must signal for help and go home in what she thinks is disgrace. Back in Kentucky, her life begins to change in unexpected ways. She falls in love. She is obliged to embrace her own vulnerability. And she meets Muhammad Ali, who tells her that she does not want to be known as the woman who "almost" rowed across the Atlantic Ocean. So with her friends and her lover, she devises a strategy that will carry her to the opposite shore. With a wry sense of humour and a strong voice, McClure give us a true memoir of an explorer who maps her world with rare emotional honesty.