Told in alternating timelines, this is a literary page-turner about what a young couple is willing to sacrifice in order to feel free and the cost of choosing an unconventional life.

Sea Wife by Amity Gaige follows the relationship between Juliet and Michael as their family leaves suburban life and embarks on a year-long sailing adventure. This novel is shared through dual perspectives that make this book both thought proking and nuanced. 

Michael has dreamed of taking this trip and his narrative is told through his sailing logbook. While Juliet is more hesitant about this trip, she has struggled with her dissertation and bouts of depression, the pull of young family life, and their disintegrating marriage and slowly begins to embrace this new undertaking.

Sea Wife not only takes on their novice experience at sea but also the complexities of marriage, mental health, and parenthood. The descriptions of life at sea as novice sailors were compelling a and Gaige's writing is lyrical and beautifully complex. This unique setting mixed with the reflections on modern marriage made this a propulsive and fascinating read. 

Thank you to Knopf and NetGalley for a gifted copy, all opinions are my own.

Sea Wife tells the story of a husband and wife, Juliet and Michael, who decide to take their small family to sea. Their problems—political and moral differences, Juliet's struggles with depression and still-unfinished dissertation, financial details that Michael has kept secret—follow them, naturally. These serious aspects of the story are balanced by gorgeous descriptions of the sea and of the locations where the family drops anchor, and by the charming, whimsical presence of the couple's children, Sybil and George. The story is told in two parts: Juliet's first-person narration after their voyage, and Michael's log books during the voyage, which read like a diary. Sea Wife is page-turning and simultaneously deeply thoughtful, a story of adventure and exploration and a meditation on marriage, trauma, and depression. It's at once serious and suspenseful, driven as much by the drama of the interpersonal relationships as by the drama of the events unfolding. Sea Wife asks us to consider the parts of ourselves we try to leave behind, and the parts we cling to no matter where we roam. I tore through the book, and would recommend Sea Wife to readers of all sorts!

Michael Partlow is finally fulfilling his dream to sail around the world.
With his wife Juliet and two young children, they take off to cruise the Caribbean for a year.
Juliet is struggling and depressed.
 She has been unable to finish her PhD dissertation, is trying to overcome feelings from a childhood trauma and her marriage is unraveling.
As they journey at sea, we hear their story as they alternate between viewpoints and shifts in time.
We get to know Michael through his ship's log, about their relationship and the fundamental differences between them.
We observe their time sailing, as they learn about resilience and survival, both at sea and in life.
A lyrically told, realistic and moving account of the complexities of love, life and marriage.
Thank you Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group for the e-ARC  via NetGalley. 
I'm looking forward to reading Schroder, a book by this author that has been on my backlist.

It takes a command of language to be able to write a book that reaches out to the reader in so many different levels. If you are a sailor wanting to know the details of sailing from Panama to Colombia, this is the manual you will want. If you are looking for a book that will provide you with personal introspection this is what you want. If you want a story of how a struggling marriage can survive a sailing trip, you’ll want to read this. The only thing I didn’t like was the addition two additions to the plot, a traumatic episode from Juliet’s childhood and the possible crime Michael might have committed. It took away from the strength of the book, which to me, was how these two parents and their kids survived the trip by depending on one another.

Amity Gaige, author of Schroeder, O My Darling, and The Folded World, captured my attention from page 1 in this novel about a family who trades their suburban security for a year-long sail in the Caribbean. Juliet is a poet who has become mired in the dailiness of parenting two children, struggling to finish her PhD; Michael is successful in business but longs for adventure on a grand scale, fueled by memories of sailing with his dad. The sailboat is Michael’s dream; Juliet thinks it’s a stunt to avoid addressing the problems in their marriage. And she’s scared. Michael is not an experienced sailor, their kids are only seven and two – what would be left of their life after a year at sea?

The novel is narrated in first person by Juliet, alternating with Michael’s journal-like ship’s log. Juliet’s perceptions are informed by her love of poetry and Gaige has given her a voice that is striking, vivid, sensual, witty. The gathering of mothers outside the day care are “mordantly funny women stinking of peanut butter.” In close POV, she positions the ordinary against the extraordinary: during the first storm, her young son, Georgie, “…discovered the soda crackers were marching toward him. He stared in awe as they jumped, one by one, over the edge of the table and into his lap…Then, like astronauts training for liftoff, we were rolled backward, until we were pressed against the bulkhead, looking up at the galley, and beyond that, through the portlights, the stormy sky.”

A central question is what happens when life is under pressure in small spaces: the boat, a tiny bar, a locked car, a closet. The tension of survival at sea and survival of a relationship pull against each other, moving the story forward. The setting itself, the sailboat and the ocean, are as realized as the human characters, and Michael suspects that “…sinking our boat would make the sea feel better. That swallowing our tiny vessel would satisfy her for just a second,” even as Juliet learns to trust. 

The novel is both adventure story and literary gorgeousness, emotionally rich and well salted with humor. If you are finding these days of ‘stay at home’ to be challenging to your sanity, Sea Wife will carry you away to a brilliantly realized world of sea and sky.

You’re Hooked The Moment You Hide In Michael’s Closet...

If you’re looking for lush, impeccable details on how to sail the scenic route to Panama and Columbia, Sea Wife is your book. Gaige’s lambent command of the research for her fourth novel is nautical genius. But, if you want to take an engaging, sometimes confrontational journey into your own points of view about intimate relationship, Sea Wife must be your manual.  

Midway through her novel, Gaige writes, “the sea draws the inner life out.”  Immersed in her seascape, yours will be laid bare.  Gaige urges you to visceral participation in Juliet and Michael’s struggle. The wife and husband battle each other and the sea to master their 44-foot yacht, a metaphor for the couple’s beautifully human relationship.

3.5 stars

Thanks #netgalley #knophpublishinggroup for granting my request for a free eARC of #seawife by Amity Gaige. All opinions are my own. 

Juliet and Michael are disillusioned with work, life, and marriage for individual reasons, and even though they are novice sailors, they set out for a yearlong sailing venture with their two young children. Things are fine at first until the unexpected happens. 

The story is told in flashbacks, reflections, and journal entries from Michael's and Juliet's perspectives. We learn about their different political views, their strengths and weaknesses, and their disillusion with marriage, career, and life as they gain a clearer perspective of each other. The fear we feel on their behalf as inexperienced sailors permeates the reading experience.

Thoughtful themes include compatibility in marriage and parenting, loss and grief, extreme adventure, life-changing events,  depression, childhood traumas, finding your voice, and envisioning a different future.

Even though the story is engaging and is unputdownable at times, I wish the transition between time periods and perspectives had been clearer. If you enjoy stream of consciousness writing, you will enjoy this aspect. I found myself feeling lost on several occasions and needed to reread to figure out which perspective I was reading and where we were in time. This affected my final star rating.

There's a lot going on in this story from sailing jargon (sailing enthusiasts will love it!) to politics (a bit heavy handed at points) to complicated marriages to personal fulfillment to depression, grief, and childhood trauma. There's also a great deal of tension and a tone of sadness, desperation, and grief throughout the story.  It reminded me a bit in tone and structure of Everything I Never Told You by Celeste Ng. The giant teardrop on the cover of Sea Wife conveys the tone well.

I like the title because Juliet is more than a wife and more than her husband's plans for their life.  At sea, she finds her voice, survives difficult circumstances, and plants seeds for envisioning a fulfilling future.

Readers who appreciate sailing (sailing jargon and ocean setting), complicated stories of marriage and family, extreme adventure, and descriptive writing might love this story.

*might contain spoilers* 
Trigger Warnings/Content Considerations: death of a spouse, depression, discussion of childhood sexual abuse, grief and loss, incompatibility in marriage.

Unfortunately, the Kindle version I received must have been an early one, with inconsistent spacing and lines that run over a large "review copy" icon.  Accordingly, it would don't be fair for me to provide feedback since I am unable to enjoy my reading experience.  The 3 star rating is intended to be neutral.

Amity Gaige’s Sea Wife is a sensitive and beautifully complex portrayal of a marriage, a family, and the personal histories that define their lives together. The couple, Michael and Juliette Partlow and their two young children, seven-year old Sybil and two-and-a-half year old George, set sail on a 44-foot yacht out of Panama with the initial intent to sail along the coasts of Central and South America. The story is told from Juliette’s and Michael’s perspectives in a back and forth series of journal entries, memories and conversations; the etiology of their relationship, the unfolding of their adventure made more expansive with the details and emotions offered in a dual narrative. Michael hopes for open water, Juliette clings to the allusion of safety within sight of land. The adults approach life at sea from different angles but both believe the voyage has the potential to change their marriage. 

Life for the family does change but not in the ways the reader expects. They find paradise; the children delight in the rhythm of island hopping, the adults reevaluate their lives in simpler terms. Tragedy looms though because paradise never lasts. The actual scope and circumstance of the family’s many tragedies are alarming but Michael’s romantic notion of liberty and Juliette’s determination to take on risk entice the reader into thinking this story is easy to decipher. It isn’t and the surprises keep the reader engaged and connected. 

We recognize ourselves in these characters. They are our children, our spouses, our parents. We are in familiar territory in their disagreements and petty feelings, their ability to love fully, inexplicably and to explore the demons they are most afraid to confront. Sea Wife is a perfect book to read now while we are locked up together amidst the untidy details of domestic life, watchful, wary of an uncertain horizon. Amity Gaige helps us understand the way small spaces in unknown territory alter relationships, the way shared adventure disturbs the surface to explore that which has been hidden or disguised. We realize we have all sheltered in place more than once in our lives and the best way out of any situation is straight through. Sea Wife is a beautiful novel; it offers solace and perhaps, a modicum of hope.

Sea Wife is the story of a couple that leaves their life in Connecticut behind to sail a boat for a year in the Caribbean.  The point of view switches between the wife post-journey and the husband's logs while at sea.  This shows a marriage that is strained and what happens when they completely shake things up.  This is not a light, breezy read, instead it is the portrait of a marriage.  The sense of place is great as well as the couple's young daughter, but it seems a bit undone or under edited.

The Sea Wife was an interesting read about a strained marriage and a man with a dream. A dream to give up his unsatisfying job, buy a boat and have his family sail the Caribbean with him for a year

Michael Partlow is the unhappy husband, his wife Juliet is a stay-at-home mom with two young children, Sybil 7, and Georgie 2. For nearly a decade Juliet has been working on her PhD; she is also a woman who suffers from depression stemming from abuse as a child. Despite Juliet's concerns, she decides to go along with Michael's plans.What could possibly go wrong?

Based in part on true events, the story alternates between Michael and Juliet's experiences along their sailing journey. Michael's thoughts tare shared through journaling and Juliet's as she looks back once she has returned home.  The story, sad at times, also has a good amount of joy and splendor as well.  I enjoyed setting and the writing style which was a bit different, I would like to try other books by this author as well.

Sea Wife is a novel that centers around the theme of journeys in multiple ways. It is well written and at times this book is gut wrenching. This is the story of a couple told in a unique structure.

Juliet has made the decision to travel with her husband and two kids for a year on a boat, maybe against her better judgement. Juliet and Michael’s marriage is not perfect and this will test them to the highest level. At first Juliet and Michael start this journey on such a positive note, it seems this is the right decision. But as we all know not everything is what it seems. 

The book is narrated by Juliet and alternated with snippets of Michael’s captain log. You will get two totally different views of this relationship and the inner workings of this relationship. We understand early on that a tragedy occurred on this trip, and there is a a small mystery that gets tacked in.

Amity Gaige wrote a very thoughtful introspective book. She took great care to give these characters their own voices. Sea Wife was extremely propulsive and I did not want to put this down. This is for fans of Literary Fiction. It might feel claustrophobic stuck on this boat, but Amity tell this story in way that feels vast at times. Excellent read.

Thank you NetGalley and Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group for an Advanced Reader’s Copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Our Sea Wife tells a story about loss and love, and the sea.  As someone who has lost a soulmate to tragedy, this book really hit me in the heart.  It's lovely.  It's almost like a love letter.  Eh, screw that.  It is a love letter.  I'm not normally into books that have a romantic type of heart and soul.  But I was interested based on the synopsis.  And who wouldn't want to travel the open seas with their loved ones?  I won't say much more than that.  But just read it, okay?

Sea Wife comes out 4.28.2020.

4.5/5 Stars

I think this book may be great for some audiences, but not others. I'm split in the middle. It's not my type of book but it still resonated and raised a lot of questions for me on motherhood, depression, and marriage. Aaah!

Juliet, mother of 2 children under 10 yrs, and struggling with depression, finds out her husband Michael has up and left his job, without warning and buys a yacht, in which he wants to take the family to Panama.

Confused, Juliet goes along with it and it seems she comes out of her depression for a while because this trip has put a little wind in her marriages sails. But things go wrong and chaos ensues. Michael, we find out is busy writing in a journal, telling of the journey and what he wants out of life. Do Juliet and Michael want the same things?

I know I would be pulling my hair out if my partner did this but hey, that's me. A happy, sometimes fun-filled, sometimes chaotic book on family, marriages, the ups and downs, and trauma we have to sometimes face.

A special thanks to NetGalley, Knopf Publishing and author Amity Gaige for my ARC copy of this book.

Sea Wife is a fantastic, unique, and original story.  Juliet is the titular "Sea Wife" when her husband buys a sailboat and talks her in to taking their two children to  live and travel on it.  The story is told through Juliet's point of view interspersed with pages from Michael's "Captain's Log" and conversations between 7 year old Sybil and her counselor.  There is also 2 1/2 year old George who they call "Doodle."  Juliet is suffering from post-partum depression and has stalled in her pursuit of a Ph.D.  So a complete change of lifestyle sounds good to her.  It actually works out pretty well until disaster strikes and Juliet is forced to plumb the depth of resources she didn't know she had.  Then she learns that the boat purchase wasn't at all what it seemed and she has to take a look at a marriage that wasn't quite what she imagined.

Amity Gaige did an excellent job writing believable if not always likeable characters.  The plot is very exciting in parts and still moved along well during the times of less action.  This would be a a great book for discussion - there are lots of ideas that arise when you read it.  I hope you enjoy it as much as I did!  Thank you for the opportunity to read the ARC.

This book is a reflection on the challenges of marriage, parenthood and mental health told by a couple who are in the extreme situation of living on a 44 ft sailboat in the Caribbean.  Juliet and Michael Partlow were a typical American family living in Connecticut with their two young children, when Michael convinces his family that they should take a year off and sail around the Caribbean.  And while their time at sea is initially filled with wonder and joy at the paradise they get to live in, things turn tragic quickly.

Sea Wife is narrated primarily by Juliet with additions from Michael’s Captain’s logbook/diary.  My favorite sections were when 7 year old Sybil interjects.  Sybil has such a creative mind and I wanted more of the story to be told from her perspective.

The most impressive part of this book is how Amity Gaige tackles so many issues in a relatively short book (288 pages).  She touches on what happens when you realize your partner doesn’t hold the same values and beliefs as you, the struggles of stay-at-home motherhood, depression, traditional gender roles in current times, and childhood traumas. I went back and forth throughout the book as to whether I wanted Juliet and Michael to stay together and whether they truly loved each other.  And I get the feeling that the characters were struggling with that too.

I think parts of the story could have been streamlined and a glossary of sailing terms in the back would have been useful.  But overall I really enjoyed this book and its making me wonder if my marriage could survive a year at sea.

3.5 rounded up to 4 stars

This review has been posted on Goodreads and will be posted on my Instagram account @ablondebooknerd on April 4th with a follow up post on April 28th.

Sea Wife by Amity Gaige is about a husband and wife struggling to get back to feeling about each other the way they did when they first got married. In an attempt to rejuvenate their relationship Juliet and Michael decide to take their two young children and go sailing for an extended period of time. Juliet has zero sailing experience while Michael grew up sailing a bit with his father. Over the course of the book, secrets are revealed that will devastate the characters. Read and enjoy!

Sea Wife is based on an interesting premise: a family going on a novel sailing trip to meet the husband's personal "crisis".  A reluctant wife and two young children complete the crew - and all experience highs and lows during the trip.  There are a few secrets being held which will impact them all in the end.  Told in several forms - flashbacks from a journal, present day therapist/child discussions, and the wife's recollection of events makes for interesting reading and the motivation to see what happens.  Not a book for my HS library collection, but a good adult read.

Sea Wife by Amity Gage is the story of a marriage, and a family, and an adventure. It is a story about depression, and the lasting repercussions of childhood trauma. It is also a story about the importance of communication. and being prepared, and the unforgiving wilderness of the sea. Told in alternating voices and overlapping timelines - Juliet provides her side of the story, and Michael’s voice is mostly revealed in his ship’s log entries - we get each spouse’s point of view as well as crucial pieces of information about what each thinks and believes and hopes for in a slow unfolding, not unlike a long, leisurely sail which eventually becomes more like a wild squall as the momentum builds. This is as much an adventure story as it is a cautionary tale, and it is written with lyrical prose and an urgency felt right from the very beginning.