A Marriage at Sea by Sophie Elmhirst

A Marriage at Sea: A True Story of Love, Obsession, and Shipwreck by Sophie Elmhirst

“A beautiful meditation on endurance, codependence, and the power of love. A dazzling book.” – Patrick Radden Keefe

The electrifying true story of a young couple shipwrecked at sea: a mind-blowing tale of obsession, survival, and a partnership pushed to its absolute limits.

Maurice and Maralyn seem like an unlikely pair. He's an obsessive, awkward loner, while she is ambitious and charismatic. Yet, they share a deep-seated fear of living an unfulfilling life and a common dream of escaping it all. What if they could quit their jobs, sell their home, buy a boat, and sail away into the sunset?

Most people never move beyond the daydream. But Maurice began to study nautical navigation, and Maralyn created detailed lists of supplies. In June 1972, they set sail. For almost a year, everything was perfect—until deep in the Pacific, a breaching whale collided with their boat, ripping a hole in the hull and sending it to the bottom of the ocean.

What follows is a jaw-dropping fight for survival in the vast, wild ocean with almost no hope of rescue. Alone together for months in a tiny rubber raft, starving and exhausted, Maurice and Maralyn must not only find ways to stay alive but also find a way to get along. As their inner demons surface, their marriage is put to the ultimate test. They may have run away from the world, but they can't run away from themselves.

Taut, propulsive, and dazzling, A Marriage at Sea combines an adrenaline-fueled high-seas adventure with a gutting love story. It's a gripping read that forces you to confront tough questions: Why do we love difficult people, and who do we become when faced with the most extreme conditions imaginable?