My guess is that many people immediately say this sounds like me. I want a boat. I want freedom to correct my life’s rut. Nerd? That is me. The book started strong, but ultimately it gives into the nagging sense of self-doubt that anyone looking for inspiration probably already knows. As other reviewers have posted, the ending ties up a story in a way that is not satisfying. Even if it is exactly as stated, it just left a lot of us hanging.
Trying to stay clear of what happens in the end is essential. Don’t google Glenn. Don’t look at his Facebook page. Don’t search for the boat registry. Don’t search for Joyce. Just let the book unwind naturally. I went to search for a picture of the boat and found more than I wanted to know, which nearly left me wanting to abandon it.
My guess is that Glenn and I wouldn’t get along very well, but not really because of Glenn. It is like getting a pony when you are a child. You imagine riding and having companionship only to realize it is 90% effort and 10% joy. Still, as others have hinted, that one situation that we are left out of really describes life.
It is hard to recommend this book to others. For those that ignore that, the sailing terms used are reasonable to understand. In my life my feet have never stepped aboard a sailboat, but a few short searches was enough to find out a locker = closet. Berth = bedroom. Furling = Rolling up the sails. Stuff like that is easy to overcome. It isn’t a barrier to understanding the story.
And in the hopes that Glenn may read this one day, you alone stopped me from buying a sailboat. My wife will very much thank you for your efforts if she figures out why my bucket list has a scratched out entry.