Unmoored

Coming of Age in Troubled Waters

By: J. R. Roessl

Narrated by: J. R. Roessl

It’s the sixties. Everything’s groovy. Teenagers bask in the freedom of a country transformed. Counterculture is on the rise, and the times, they-are-a-changing. Everything, that is, except the author’s young life.

She doesn’t swoon for the Beatles or scream for the Stones. She doesn’t protest the Vietnam War or fight for women’s rights. Instead, from age seven to sixteen, she accompanies her father to a dilapidated barn on the edge of a dusty little town located on the outskirts of San Francisco, where she works after school, on weekends, and summers building a ship that is supposed to set her free. It is her father’s promise of one day sailing the ocean on a three-year around-the-world adventure that keeps her going.

With the sixties and teenage torment as a backdrop, Unmoored is the parallel story of growth and redemption through the travails of a forty-four-foot schooner and the girl who helped guide it through storms, fire, near destitution and, ultimately, disaster, notwithstanding coping with a cold and moody father. But in the end, she learns that “Heritage’s worth, like ours, is not measured in terms of where she landed nor by what others thought of her, but in the attempt to get somewhere better than where she’d started. In that, she succeeded, and by default, so did we.”

PLEASE NOTE: When you purchase this title, the accompanying PDF will be available in your Audible Library along with the audio.

©2023 J. R. Roessl (P)2023 Blackstone Publishing

It grew on me.

A lovely insight into the meaning of family. Along with a travelogue of a coastal journey by yacht and the ups and downs thereof.

Harrowing tale of a teenager’s life at sea at The hands of an unhinged(to say the least) father.

Suspenseful, incite full & beautifully expressed. Couldn’t stop reading! Can’t wait to read more from j.R. Roessi.

One of the most inspiring coming of age stories

I thoroughly enjoyed Unmoored by JR Roessl. The author's portrayal of her family's courageous voyage along the tumultuous waters of the Mexican Riviera, aboard a DIY vessel intended for calm New England waters, had me consistently on the edge of my seat. It's truly inspiring to witness her growth into an extraordinary person despite facing remarkable challenges at such a tender age. This book prompted me to reflect on my own potential for personal growth.

Great nautical adventure story

Mosquito Coast meets the Wonder Years. Do you ever wish you grew up in a family that traveled the world in their yacht? Some people would die for that experience. JRs father was determined to have that experience despite all the signs from the universe. Luckily JR lived to tell the tale.

Adrift Between Dreams and Despair

As a sailor with ten years of experience who spent countless weekends on my 27-foot Newport sailing the Columbia River, I've read many sailing books and dreamed of ocean voyages.

Though I made frequent trips to Astoria, I never crossed the Columbia bar into the open ocean—those dreams remained just that, dreams. This context made "Unmoored" an unexpected and intriguing dive into what I can only describe as an almost zombie-like twilight zone experience.

The book presents a family so distressed that it's hard to fathom their reality. The antagonist is the young sailor's father, a man who mistreats his four daughters with shocking insensitivity. He treats them like servants and slaves, ordering them around mercilessly with crude, callous, and abusive language.

He reminds me of Joe Btfsplk from "Li'l Abner"—the character surrounded by a perpetual cloud of bad luck that he spreads to everyone around him, making people avoid his company. This father has the worst luck of any sailor I've encountered in fiction or nonfiction. He simply can't catch a break.

What makes him particularly troubling is his two-faced nature. While his family sees him for who he truly is, he continues writing letters to his parents describing an idyllic life aboard ship—a portrayal that's 180 degrees from reality. I wonder whether he's lying to himself or genuinely doesn't recognize his own incompetence.

The book kept me intrigued throughout, hoping for some smooth sailing that rarely comes. Sometimes in life it's hard to see the forest for the trees, and often we face circumstances we can't comprehend. This is exactly that kind of story. The daughters bring their own angst and seem unable to support one another, creating a rivalry and antagonism that adds another layer of dysfunction to an already troubled family.

The mother emerges as a complex figure in what is fundamentally a character study with a fascinating maritime setting as a backdrop. The imagery throughout is quite stunning and beautiful. I listened to the Audible version and enjoyed the author's voice and vivid descriptions.

One particularly striking observation comes from the mother's assessment that the author more closely resembles her father more than anyone. This seems accurate, as the author certainly has her own share of bad luck and personal storm clouds. However, she appears to handle adversity much better than her father ever could.

Despite the challenging subject matter, "Unmoored" is an entertaining and compelling story that I highly recommend for anyone interested in complex family dynamics set against the unforgiving backdrop of life at sea.