I am attempting this year to read more non-fiction, so I picked this one up mostly because Barack Obama told me to.
Maralyn and Maurice were a bit of an odd couple (he was many years her senior, and a bit of a recluse; she was a young and beautiful dynamo) who married in the late 60s/early 70s in small town UK. They both wanted more adventure, so they began sailing. In 1973, they sold their house, finished building their yacht, and set out on their dream trip around the world…and then, in the middle of the Pacific Ocean, a forty-foot-long sperm whale hit their thirty-foot-long boat. They watched from a raft as it, and most of their belongings, sank to the bottom of the ocean.
They stayed on that raft for 117 days.
Much of the story is simply how they survived on that boat. Their games, mental exercises, conversations (or not), luck in finding food (or not), the excruciating emotional labor of waiting, hoping, and literally keeping each other afloat. Maralyn was the do-er, the optimist, the one with a plan, the one who thought to grab some books on the way out of their sinking yacht; Maurice, not so much. He admits plainly at the end that it was Maralyn who kept them alive, almost through sheer force of personality, forcing him to rise above his gloom. I found this the most interesting and endearing part of the book, actually – in a time of existential crisis, they both say specifically that it wasn’t just the physical maintenance that kept them going, although it was that of course: it was Maralyn’s hope. It was also refreshing to have a story where the partnership and love, odd though it may have seemed at first, kept them each going. They each really loved each other and were willing to fight to keep going, in the most extreme circumstance. I also really enjoyed the story of how they were found (really an amazing stroke of luck and instinct on the part of the captain!) and the terrible state that they were in after so long at sea. The very human reactions of the cargo ship captain and crew were truly heartwarming.
Less interesting to me was the post-rescue celebrity whirlwind tour – mostly, Maralyn and Maurice just wanted to get back to their lives, but they were wined and dined and corporate-sponsored (the manufacturer of the life raft, understandably, LOVED them.) This was interesting, especially compared to the 2026 media landscape, but I was glad when it faded and they were able to get back to their life — and build their next boat.
I’m honestly not sure where the “obsession” from the title comes in, except that they were obsessed with each other, or obsessed with being on the ocean? An odd word choice imo, but no matter. This is an easy but thoughtful read of a crazy true story with a happy ending and I recommend it – especially if you need a little palate cleanser from other not-so-uplifting non-fiction.
