Not long ago a large padded envelope arrived in our mail box from Paradise Cay Publishing. When I slit it open, I was surprised and pleased to see that the publisher had sent along Lin Pardey’s new book for us to review.
I had not seen Lin for a couple of years but she and Larry and I had been good friends for many decades, and they had written for me at Cruising World and then at Blue Water Sailing. So it was with real pleasure that I sat down that afternoon to read Passages.
I have read almost all of Lin and Larry’s books but I have to admit I had forgotten just what a good writer she is. Passages is the story of Lin and Larry’s life together as they explored the world and shared many adventures. In a sense, it is a love story featuring a couple that thousands know and many count as friends.
But Passages is also a chronicle of Larry’s slow decline into dementia and Lin’s difficult decision to place him in a nursing facility where he could receive care 24 hours a day. Suddenly alone, Lin had to face the fact that her life was now divided in two, life with Larry and life without him.
And, then, an Australian single-handed sailor happened into her life and an entirely new passage began.
Always an engaging story teller and a writer who is both observant and personally candid, Passages is a great read and will be much appreciated by sailors who have, like me, spent a good part of our lives with Lin and Larry in our personal universes.
