This is the true story of a whirlwind, midlife romance and two lovers' pursuit of a life of adventure on the high seas. In this brave and searing testament, Gordon Chaplin tells the tale of a catastrophic journey he and his partner, Susan Atkinson, undertook across the Pacific Ocean. Having separately navigated broken first marriages and two decades of childrearing, they had rediscovered the passion and a new life together. But an idyllic sailing escapade through the Marshall Islands ends in tragedy when they decide to ride out a typhoon on their sailboat rather than abandon ship for the safety of shore.
'Dark Wind' is the result of years of anguished soul-searching and Chaplin's meticulous reconstruction of events. It is provocative and addictive, raising questions about fate, control, human limitations, and self-preservation. did the pattern of the lover's lives lead inexorably to disaster? And when faced with that disaster, did Chaplin acquit himself? Chaplin's brutally honest accounting of his actions and his poignant reflections on his love affair are powerful and moving. In this novel, he dares to push beyond the usual boundaries of memoir and succeeds in redefining our understanding of love and forgiveness.
'Dark Wind' is the harrowing memoir of adventure, disaster, guilt and the subsequent anguished search for understanding. The story is so heart-wrenching that it is beyond ascribing blame. It is ultimately about fate and what may happen when two good people put themselves in harm's way.
