Adrift : Seventy-Six Days Lost at Sea
This book was mentioned in a book on recovery from illness, where one of the patients read this book every single day. As I finished reading “Adrift”, I understood why the patient read this book as she was bound in her hospital bed.
The book is a first hand account of how the author fought for his life in an inflatable raft after his small sloop capsized only six days from port. He was lost in the sea for 76 days as his raft floated 1800 miles before finally being rescued by a few fishermen near Guadeloupe. Alone by himself, he had to collect drinkable water, search for food, fix equipment breakdown, overcome sharks attacks, endure storms, live through physical pain and at times, depression. Eight ships passed him by. In those 76 days, he constantly fought for his life. He resorted to find comfort and strength in his dreams about family, food, and water.
The “lost at sea” journey delivers the author (and the book readers) a revelation. Sometimes, we are adrift in life. Sometimes, when our ideal does not match reality, we flee the reality. Sometimes, we cannot accept our own limitations as well as those of the people around us. Through the ordeal, he learns that he is stronger than what he think he is, and he can accept his limitations while learning to compensate for them.
In his 76-day chronicle, there was detailed account how he lived his day, fixed the still, fixed his spear to be used as the only weapon to catch fish, and fixed the leaking of the raft tubes.
What truly amazed was how he was occupied with fighting for his survival and how little he left time for despair. Through the ordeal, he learns to live in harmony with the magic and the mystery of the sea. It is his positive mindset that resonates and inspires the book readers. It is one of the classics that lifts our spirit.
One day, I would come back to read it again and maybe again.
oliviatamccue 