I feel bad for temporarily abandoning my Outlander obsession, but I needed something fast and easy to read and this fit the bill perfectly. I don't usually read memoirs, but I came across this book while reading a lifestyle blog and the description really spoke to me. I'm a big romance junkie and my boyfriend and I often joke about a dream one day to pick up sailing so this appeared to be the perfect read. It's the author's retelling of her journey sailing the South Pacific with a man she met and fell in love with while living in San Francisco for a year. She's deathly afraid of the ocean and plans to head back to Australia after a year living in the states, but meeting Ivan in a bar puts quite a dent in her plans.This memoir is written in a very engaging style -- there's a lot of dialogue which obviously isn't verbatim, but the author acknowledges that in the opening to the book. It helped me connect with the book and I didn't mind that the people/conversations in the book may have been altered slightly for the benefit of the story. What I enjoyed most was how relatable Torre DeRoche is. She's not some fearless adventurous spirit who has traveled the world and wanted to try something new. She's just an ordinary person who took advantage of an opportunity given to her and decided to do something that terrified her. It opened her eyes up to see the world in a completely new way and that really inspired me. We have choices everyday - we can take the easy and safe route or we can choose something a little more risky that may offer a big reward in the long run. My big takeaway from this was that life is and can be a great adventure if you just let go of the fear that you allow to hold you back. This story was also a beautiful tale of love. Of loving the ocean, finding your passion in life, but also having someone to share it with. The world is a beautiful place on its own, but having someone to share it with is the icing on the cake. I loved how Torre and Ivan's relationship progressed and evolved throughout the trip and at the end. If you're looking for a story that's sweet, inspiring and adventurous I'd definitely recommend this one. The fact that it's a true story makes it all the better. Excellent read! Lovely, fun read. I had a hard time getting into it at the beginning but really got sucked in about a third of the way through. Torre meets Ivan and finds that, along with his charm he is an adventurer, quite the opposite to her anxious, land-loving nature. But they sail the pacific together and along the way experience many awesome adventures! DeRoche describes such wonderful amazing places, people and times that it seems quite appealing to pack up and leave life and live the nomadic lifestyle. This book has a slightly annoying habit of jumping forward a bit more than I like but I suspect it would have been much longer had she not cut out parts. I would recommend reading this. It's fun. Who doesn't love a good love story? Especially one on the ocean...
Do You like book Love With A Chance Of Drowning (2013)?
Equal parts travel & love story. Well written. A joy to take this trip with her.
—Mrsjbolek2
The only downside is that now I totally want to sail the world...
—lonely
