Jewish Federation Book Club Reads "Sailing at the Edge of Disaster"
A Memoir of a Young Woman’s Daring Year by Elizabeth W. Garber
Our February video session included the author, Elizabeth W. Garber, who joined us once before when we discussed her first memoir, Implosion: A Memoir of an Architect’s Daughter. In that, Elizabeth included a chapter titled, “The Ship 1971-1972,” describing her year aboard an “Oceanics School.” The so-called school offered “an education of a lifetime aboard a sail training ship.” When Elizabeth’s father—a man who exploited his wife and three children for many years and forced them to build their own home—sent her and one brother off to that ship, the siblings were glad to escape.
Unfortunately, it became a continuation of more exploitation, not only of Elizabeth and her brother, but of all the students. Twenty pages of a single chapter weren’t enough to give readers the full experience, and we are all grateful she wrote this riveting sequel. Elizabeth spoke about her research process for Sailing at the Edge of Disaster, starting with her extensive journals. Reconnecting with the other students on the ship, gathering their memories, and learning that their days of being held hostage in the Panama Canal were even more “utterly” dangerous than she could have imagined.
If you’re old enough to remember life in the sixties and seventies, you’ll appreciate their re-creation in these two books, but you probably didn’t live through that era like this.
Beth Buechler
Community Contributor
Click here to read a transcript of February’s Book Club Conversation with Elizabeth Garber.
The Jewish Federation Book Club meets via Zoom at 4:00 PM. Unless otherwise scheduled, we meet every second Thursday of the month.
Upcoming Books are Currently in the Works.
March 7 - The Giver of Stars, by Jojo Moyes
April 11 - Snow Falling on Cedars, by David Guterson
May 9 - Happiness Falls, by Angie Kim
June 13 - Life After Life, by Kate Atkinson
July 11 - The Light Pirate, by Lily Brooks-Dalton