By Sarah Conover
Beautifully written, imbued with grace, and defined by hope and forgiveness, Set Adrift rocked me, wrecked me, and, finally, brought me home to safe harbor.
– Kim Barnes, Pulitzer finalist and author of In the Wilderness: Coming of Age in Unknown Country
A Tragic Loss, an Orphaned Childhood, and the Eventual Unstorying of a Life
In January, 1958, a renowned sailing family was lost in a storm in the Bermuda Triangle. The youngest of two daughters, Sarah, suddenly an orphan, grew up never knowing her parents and grandparents. As an adult, she began to pursue the mystery of her family and their disappearance, and discovered that their stories were far different from the versions she was told. Sarah Conover’s memoir follows the national media’s investigation of the Revonoc’s vanishing, and exposes the truths that led her to “unstory” the family history, creating a new understanding of their lives, and hers.
Released June 27, 2023
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About Sarah Conover: Sarah Conover holds a BA in comparative religions from the University of Colorado, and an MFA in creative writing from Eastern Washington University. She has worked as a television producer for PBS and Internews (an international media NGO), a social worker for Catholic Charities, a public school teacher, and taught creative writing through the community colleges of Spokane, Washington. She is the author of six books on world wisdom traditions and spirituality published by Skinner House Books, the educational publishing arm of the Unitarian Universalist Association. Her poetry, essays and interviews have been published in a variety of literary magazines and anthologies.
Additional Praise for SET ADRIFT
Sarah Conover’s Set Adrift is the most captivating memoir, written in brief, brilliant chapters. This gripping story unfolds as elegantly as cream poured from a china pitcher into a bowl. Beginning with a shocking maritime disaster, the book continues with perfect pacing through the mystery and compassionate reclamation of facts, identities and relationships, extending for a lifetime. It’s a complex seeker’s journey rich with family voices, scenes, devotions, and fresh reckonings. I love this book with all my heart.
– Naomi Shihab Nye, Young People’s Poet Laureate Emeritus (Poetry Foundation)
Raised by a family who imagined grief could be tamed the way (they trusted) their racing yachts would tame dangerous ocean currents, Sarah Conover shows resilience and courage as she pieces together the fragments of her broken life, undertaking a wide-ranging journey to discover what “home” might mean to the orphaned; what a restless spirit might indicate; and how deeply damaging entrenched family mythology can be. A triumph, exquisitely written and observed.
– Leslie Pietrzyk, author of Admit This to No One
Sarah Conover’s fearless path into the heart of the abyss and back again is uniquely transcendent. Who can fathom the depths of loss that consume us and make each human endeavor somehow akin to the infinite? Set Adrift speaks to the gravest losses with such familiarity, grace, intelligence, and hope, no page fails to leave an imprint of the ineffable.
– Shann Ray, American Book Award winner, author of American Masculine and Atomic Theory 7