Rated  of 5
by CarolK
An Inspiring Adventure
This is my kind of book. It's not only that I live vicariously through adventures such as this but that I also get a bang out of the determination, strength, and discipline exhibited by women such as Tori Murden McClure. Her goal; to be the first woman to row solo across the Atlantic. Building, determining supplies, and preparation of The American Pearl are interesting to read about. Fitting her 6ft frame into the confined space of her sleeping chamber, which she describes as the width of two coffins and not high enough to sit upright and the thought of people deprivation (at least 100 days alone and phone that malfunctions) made me a bit edgy but didn't seem to faze McClure. Repairs, storms, finding dead squid on deck were more than I could dream of handling but most seemed to be all in a day's row for her. One thing that did throw her into a tizzy was reaching for a chocolate power bar and finding apricot instead.
As much as I was fascinated by the actual diary type journey as Tori rowed across the Atlantic, this could have gotten boring as each day was repetitious out of necessity. I think she knew she had to give us a bit more so rowing days are broken up with chapters about her early life, particularly with stories about her mentally disabled brother, Lamar. Lamar and often Tori, were the brunt of the cruelty that only kids can inflict making Tori her brother's keeper in the true sense of the word, defending him against rocks and slurs. She was a fighter and this caused many problems particularly with her mother. If you believe life's knocks make you stronger, you can see how Tori became the woman she did. Not only a superior athlete she became an excellent student and graduated from Smith, went on to Harvard and after passing the bar eventually becomes the first non-catholic woman president of Spalding University.
Back to the rowing and her goal. That Tori fails in her first attempt and goes on to try it again and succeeds is incredible. In the end though, I still feel there is much that McClure left out; back story that she chose not to share. She mentions many friendships but she keeps the details of these to herself. Her mother, her father; no clue as to what happened to them. Her grandfather told her when putting her story down on paper that it should be a romance. Tori does find love and marries before she attempts the second crossing but other than his help in the project and some butting of two strong personalities we don't hear much about the marriage leaving me to believe the true romance here is The American Pearl.
Despite what I think was lacking, there really is a lot to the whole. Pearl in the Storm is in the end an uplifting memoir. It is a good pick for high school readers, fans of books about strong women, and anyone who likes to read about a winner and how they get to be that way. |
of 5
by Carole Scureman 
of 5
by Reader 
