First You Have to Row a Little Boat

the long version

Written from the point of view of a grown man looking back on his childhood, and reflecting on what the experience of learning to sail taught him about the lessons of life, First You Have to Row a Little Boat has the makings of an inspirational classic. With each brief chapter telling the story of a young man's initiation to adulthood, the bay on which he sails becomes a universe of sorts, teaching him new lessons about making choices, adapting to change, and becoming his own person with every journey he takes. Filled with the spiritual wisdom and thought-provoking discoveries that marked such books as Walden, The Prophet, and the Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance, First You Have to Row aLittle Boat is a wondrous and magical book that will enchant both sailors and non-sailors alike, but most of all, anyone who seeks large truths in small things.