Michael Hurley was still reeling from the end of his twenty-five year marriage after a life-changing infidelity when he found himself out of a job and with little wherewithal, left only to look back on his life and wonder how to move forward. A lifelong sailor, Hurley found his call for perspective answered by the sea, and he committed himself to undertaking an impressive journey from Maryland to Nassau on his 32-foot sailboat, the Gypsy Moon. With only the open water of the Atlantic for company, Hurley set off on his expedition in the hope of uncovering answers to his many questions through self-reflection amid the natural grace – and hardship – of life on the open seas. Initially, he wrote letters to his friends that chronicled his innermost thoughts and experiences during his trip, but eventually those letters transformed into Once Upon a Gypsy Moon, a memoir that details two years spent between the Gypsy Moon‘s determined journey and the life on land that churned along because of it. On his adventure Hurley would connect to himself, grow ever more deeply in-tuned with his faith, and meet the love of his life. He would discover, as well, that life is as unpredictable, and sometimes as unsettling, as the ocean’s tempestuous waters.
Once Upon a Gypsy Moon drew several different and impassioned reactions from me. At its height, the memoir captivated me in deep artistic appreciation; Hurley’s elegant, fluid prose was a source of pure delight all its own, and his depictions of life aboard the Gypsy Moon had me wishing for a dockside view, at the very least, all the better to immerse myself in the memoir’s tangible salty air. Amid the rocky terrain of the unpredictable ocean landscape – and with technical difficulties and masterful storms to blight his path – Hurley engages the reader with stories from his life, filled with both joy and sorrow. Through the entirety of his craftsmanship, Hurley has created a certain atmosphere that softly envelops his reader. When his narrative set foot on dry land, however, the scenes involving his social excursions felt slightly more distant. As it is in dreams, I felt that I couldn’t quite make out the faces of the people he wrote about; the finite details didn’t hook me there. Where they did, however, was in his documentation of his days spent tending to the Gypsy Moon. Even for one with as limited a nautical vocabulary as I, these scenes were clearly spun of a special sort of magic. Every memoir is, of course, an excursion into the deeper reaches of the author’s own insight, and Hurley delivers his view of the world – predominantly of love, marriage, and the intricacies of his personal faith – through extravagant prose the scope of which reveals that the author is not just a sailor, but also a dreamer and a poet.
Hurley’s insights share their space in the memoir with the Gypsy Moon herself, and she’s a bit of a scene stealer. Many would agree that few things are as commanding as the majesty of a boat on the water, and for a mortal man to offer something more enchanting is a true task. It would take an especially poignant story to entertain the reader as well as the simple, tremendous escapism of imagined life at sea; whether Hurley’s missive accomplishes this will depend greatly, perhaps entirely, on the character of the reader who entertains the pages of his memoir, but he certainly puts his heart and soul into the process. His honesty and courage are admirable, and his opulent, creative use of language delivers the memoir in a beautiful presentation. At times sparkling with charisma and exuding the crisp excitement of maritime adventure, Once Upon a Gypsy Moon offers readers a journey through the ocean of life that will appeal to the hearts of dreamers and romantics, be they on land or at sea.
Title: Once Upon a Gypsy Moon: An Improbable Voyage and One Man’s…
Author: Michael Hurley
Genre: memoir
Publisher: Center Street
Available Formats: hardcover, ebook
Release date: April 16, 2013
Provided by: Center Street (c/o)
Buy the book: Amazon | Kindle | Barnes & Noble
Connect with the author: Website | Facebook | Goodreads
{ 1 comment }
As a proficient technology executive with a successful career history, Janet Pucino saw firsthand the inequality women face in America’s modern corporate world. From the difficulties women face in moving up the corporate ladder to the belittlements that prevent the fullest use of their skills at every corporate level, Pucino witnessed the remarkably one-sided struggles that result from an environment historically prone to gender biases. In her new book, Not in the Club, An Executive Woman’s Journey Through the Biased World of Business, Pucino explores the concept of an informal but obstinately elite group dominated by men in the upper echelons of corporate America: the “Club”. The premise of the book illustrates the reality of gender inequality in the business world, as well as calling attention to hierarchical biases and the general inaccessibility of organizations whose executives demonstrate Club-based mentalities. Backed by startling research study results and calling on the experiences of other executives – both male and female – Pucino boldly uncovers the reality of the mood in today’s corporate world.
Title: 
Throughout her career, Alison Pace’s stories have been graced with the moniker of “dog lit”. But for Alison, many of the years spent writing novels about dogs, and essays about dogs, and book reviews about books about dogs were years spent without a dog of her own. Growing up in a house with no less than four dogs at a time, Alison is a lifelong lover of the animal with a wealth of memories for all the dogs she’s known. Living in New York City, though, has its dog-related difficulties, and pursuing the presence of dogs in her adult life found a way of becoming a lingering dream. In her new memoir, You Tell Your Dog First, Alison recounts, among other things, her decision to finally get a dog of her own: including the hunt for the perfect dog-friendly apartment, the extensive search for the appropriate breed, and the many adventures that come with dog-ownership. The dog at the center of the book, and at the center of Alison’s delight, is Carlie, a West Highland white terrier.
Title: 
How do we define love? Can it transcend the matter of age, of gender? Can it transcend time? Can soul mates be brought together in every lifetime, if indeed we all live multiple lives? Do soul mates really exist at all?
Title: 
I’m a blogger of eight years, a self-taught graphic designer and a voracious reader since my very first mastering of The Foot Book. I live in New England where I can be found up to my eyebrows in books, with Dean Martin on the stereo and a glass of wine in hand.
