*3.5 stars*

Family-centred memoir…

This memoir included all the things one would expect from a personal, travel memoir. Family, drama. Exotic locations with vivid descriptions. The author paints a picture of the ups and downs of travelling, whatever mode you choose. Have a family in tow and the challenges multiply, but so do the good times… The narrative was a bit scattered at times which was distracting but did not take away from the elements of the story that were interesting and attention-grabbing.

Be warned, this is the middle read in a trilogy and the abrupt-ish ending surprisingly left on a cliff-hanger. I don’t know that I’ve read a non-fiction with such a thing… If its aim was to intrigue me into reading the next instalment though, job well done.

This book is an account of a family’s sailing and safari adventure. There is drama, love beauty and humor. All in all it was a touching tale

I am such a huge fan of adventure travel, and this one was especially intriguing with tragic happenings that kept me on edge worrying for the family and ready to read what happens next. The author told her story well, I really enjoyed it.

I found Bluewater Walkabout by Tina Dreffin a very interesting book to read. It was full of adventure and wisdom. and found it very heartwarming and inspiring. Tina grabs life by the horns and goes for it.
It hard to put down, just wish I could be like that sometimes ;)

A lovely Holiday read sitting in the shade reading this lovely lovely book.

I received a Kindle ARC from Netgalley in exchange for a review.

I enjoy travel books and this one is one wild trip. I haven't read a book about a boat trip over the ocean in ages..... This ones not too bad. A woman and her family set sail and she wrote about the joys and trials of the trip. Not bad. I've read better travel books. Still it may inspire someone to take a road, or ocean, trip themselves.

I've been enjoying non-fiction books more and more lately and the description of this - a memoir of sailing and a safari through Africa really sounded like something I'd enjoy. But the subtitle of this book, "Finding Healing Through Travel," reveals the true purpose of this memoir.

Author Tina Dreffin had a rough few years when she was young and trying to make it in Texas, to the point that she feared for her safety. Rape and the threat of continued sexual assaults had her looking to get out, and she jumped at the chance to make some money and get away from the hostile environment she was in. That's when she met Peter - a good-hearted sailing bum. They travel together, raise boys together, suffer some loss together, and though this is Tina's memoir, Peter, who is generally silent through the book, plays an integral role.

I was really looking forward to this book. Even the sub-title, "Finding Healing Through Travel," didn't deter me.

But this book is not so much a sharing of an adventure but a means of catharsis for Ms. Dreffin. We are not brought in on the story. The story isn't being shared with us ... we are being told a story. Though Dreffin tries to gain our sympathies with her early plight (and we do understand and empathize) it isn't enough to hold our interest through the book.

The narrative here lacks focus. While recognizing that it is memoir and a memoir is a collection of memories that can be put together in a non-linear order, we often get memories shared that make the reader wonder - why is this here?

The African adventure, as described in the book, is a disappointing climax of the memoir. The sailing (the 'bluewater' as described in the title) is initially more interesting than the African adventure, but neither really engages.

This is very much akin to watching a friend's slides from their summer vacation. What is interesting to them, grows tedious to the viewer/reader - and more-so when the story-teller isn't a friend.

Also, I'd point out - the term Walkabout is typically an Australian term for a rite of passage for the indigenous young men. Dreffin's adventures are none of these.

I hope Dreffin has secured some release of her past and achieved the catharsis that she needed, but I feel I was an unwitting passenger on this trip and I can't recommend this memoir.

Looking for a good book? <em>Bluewater Walkabout</em> by Tina Dreffin is a very personal adventure but doesn't reach out to the reader enough to make this recommendation worthy.

I received a digital copy of this book from the publisher, through Netgalley, in exchange for an honest review.

I really enjoyed this book. The wonderful vivid descriptions of a life most of us can only dream of seeing through the eyes of an author or a television documentary. I love to hike and hopefully after a knee replacement will be able to do so again without pain. I would love to sail, however it will not happen at my age and the deep respect I have of the ocean.
I truly felt pulled into Tina's description of her life at sea with her family.
The links at the back of the book I am certain can save someone's sanity if not their life. Well done
Thank you NetGalley for providing me a copy of this tremendous e-book.

An enjoyable book to read and I found it difficult to put it down. It made me want to go exploring with my family around from 'modern' day living. A combination of Tina's journey with her husband, sons and friends detailing her emotional well being and how things go wrong when you least expect it. Embarking on this adventurous journey seems to have helped Tina with several issues that affect many and how it has helped.

I started this book with lots of enthusiasm. I love memoir type books, but unfortunately this book just did not grip me. It jumped around so much during the first few chapters that I had to go back and reread whole passages to figure out if we are in the present or the past. There was no sense of continium and flow.

Other than that there are some other errors and exaggerations which I did not appreciate. If you write memoirs, I suppose you are allowed a certain amount of poetic liscence, but sometimes it went just a little bit too far.

But having listed all my gripes with this book, it does have a certain entertainment value. It was interesting to read about life on a catamaran. It is a different world and sounds like a great adventure.

I would not really recommend this book, but I suppose it might appeal to sailing enthusiasts and die hard memoir/biography entusiasts.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for providing me with the opportunity to read and review this book.

What a beautiful life! This book just makes you feel good, or it did that for me. It's a must read, especially if you like learning about other people, and life in other places. It is an inspirational story of a woman's journey in her life. Tina takes us through all the peaks and valleys, with lovely writing.

Healing Memoir Disappoints Reader

I would like to thank NetGalley and AuthorBuzz Publishing, for the copy of "Bluewater Walkabout: Into Africa, Finding Healing Through Trauma" by Tina Dreffin. The cover drew me in and I had anticipation for a great story about traveling in Africa. I really wanted to like this book and I kept reading it hoping I would like it better as it continued. Unlike other reviewers, I was not captivated by the story.
I looked at the elephant and read the Bluewater Walkabout: Into Africa and failed to notice the Finding Healing Through Trama. The book is more about Tina’s personal journey through life than it is about the family’s sailing adventures.
I would have enjoyed the book more if it had been edited to be about the sailing adventures. The traveling descriptions of the story were exciting, but I was not interested in reading about the rape recovery, the miscarriage, and the other very personal issues which haunted the author. I wanted to know about traveling adventures period.
That being said, I will read the description of my next book selections more carefully.