Red Sky in Mourning (Adrift): A True Story of Love, Loss, and Survival at Sea by Tami Oldham Ashcraft with Susea McGearhart

Red Sky in Mourning is the August Book Club pick for the Rogue (aka FLICKS) Book Club.   It was made into a movie called Adrift earlier this summer.  This book is a memoir about American Tami Oldham and her British fiancé Richard Sharp’s tragic last voyage together.  They had been paid to sail a yacht from Tahiti to San Diego, but along the way they hit a hurricane.  Richard sends Tami below and then she hears a scream and is knocked out.  When she awakens she discovers Richard is gone and she has no mast on the boat and no radio.  Using her navigational skills and knowledge of currents, will she be able to find her way to Hawaii, which is more than 1,000 miles away?

Red Sky in Mourning was an interesting story, although sad.  The story is told during Tami’s solitary journey where she hears a voice guiding her and flashes back to tell Tami and Richard’s love story.  I thought it was interesting that the book told about the aftermath including what to do with saltwater hair that hasn’t been brushed in over a month and meeting Richard’s family.  I was sad that the family didn’t really bond with Tami or realize the sentimental value of Richard’s boat to her. 

Our book club got into a discussion about the movie and how it differs from the book.  In the movie Richard is apparently alive and the source of the mysterious “voice” helping Tami out and it’s a surprise at the end that he is not alive.  I have yet to see the movie so maybe it works, but I think that takes away from the true horror that Tami faced when she awoke injured and alone.

Overall, Red Sky in Mourning was an interesting memoir of survival.

What is your favorite story of survival?

Book Source:  The Kewaunee Public Library