I heard about this book from a friend, They really loved it. Me...not so much.

While I respect the author's courage to make the life change she did as I read the book I felt an undercurrent of sadness and depression about her. When I read about her praying to Poseidon rather than to almighty Godand all of the alcoholic drinking, I then understood why I was feeling this way. I put down this book and began to read something else that to me was more uplifting.
Jane C. Kramer

I enjoyed Mary's story VERY much. I was surprised to learn she had been a book editor because I was distracted in the beginning chapters by many sentence fragments and run-on "sentences". I learned it was bad form, if not poor grammar to begin a sentence with the word "And". I was also confused at some points while trying to follow the story line: Mary skipped the family Thanksgiving for a warm weather trip South...but later in the story, she claims to have visited her aging grandmother in upstate New York over that same Thanksgiving? Maybe I'm reading too literally. I greatly admire her spirit of adventure and her courage in sharing her emotional life with us. I'm left wondering, though: what if Lars had invited her to sail to Europe? Would she have accepted that challenge/invitation?

This was a terrific book on many levels and while I
would not hesitate to recommend it, parts offended me.
Why was it necessary to contaminate its freshness with
your politics? Why the references to NPR and the usual
knee jerk reactions to Bush and the war on terrorism?
I think it'd have been suffice to just reveal that you
are a liberal Democrat. No problem there but why date
this memoir with your preferences and, it appears,
your PC prejudices? I really didn't need that to enjoy your
seafaring midlife adventures. Take care of your doggies!

The Cure for Anything Is Salt Water: How I Threw My Life Overboard and Found Happiness at Sea

As a reader whose only experience with boats is a few crossings on the Staten Island Ferry, I still found myself hooked from the beginning of THE CURE FOR ANYTHING IS SALT WATER. Not only because it is a very funny book and a great story about leaving corporate life for the sea, but also because of the sharp reflections on the impermanent yet invaluable aspects of life and relationships.

Helen Ward, Brooklyn, NY