A Marriage at Sea

A True Story of Love, Obsession, and Shipwreck

De: Sophie Elmhirst

Narrado por: Marisa Calin

“A beautiful meditation on endurance, codependence, and the power of love. A dazzling book.” – Patrick Radden Keefe

The electrifying true story of a young couple shipwrecked at sea: a mind-blowing tale of obsession, survival, and partnership stretched to its limits.

Maurice and Maralyn make an odd couple. He’s a loner, awkward and obsessive; she’s charismatic and ambitious. But they share a horror of wasting their lives. And they dream – as we all dream – of running away from it all. What if they quit their jobs, sold their house, bought a boat, and sailed away?

Most of us begin and end with the daydream. But Maurice began to study nautical navigation. Maralyn made detailed lists of provisions. And in June 1972, they set sail. For nearly a year all went well, until deep in the Pacific, a breaching whale knocked a hole in their boat and it sank beneath the waves.

What ensues is a jaw-dropping fight to survive in the wild ocean, with little hope of rescue. Alone together for months in a tiny rubber raft, starving and exhausted, Maurice and Maralyn have to find not only ways to stay alive but ways to get along, as their inner demons emerge and their marriage is put to the greatest of tests. Although they could run away from the world, they can’t run away from themselves.

Taut, propulsive, and dazzling, A Marriage at Sea pairs an adrenaline-fueled high seas adventure with a gutting love story that asks why we love difficult people, and who we become under the most extreme conditions imaginable.

©2025 Sophie Elmhirst (P)2025 Penguin Audio

Very descriptive and well-written

My husband and I listened to this wonderful tale of a shipwrecked married couple. It gave us so much to talk about in putting ourselves in the Bailey’s shoes (or raft, as it were). I’d never heard this story and found it very interesting.

Fascinating true story of survival

Loved the narration and the accuracy of the details, based on the carefully kept records both of them kept during their ordeal

Boring, mostly

I was very interested until after they were rescued. Their lives peaked during that time and it was all downhill in all the years after. Too bad.

Compelling, beautiful writing with lovely narration.

This is a true survival story of the Baileys, a married couple who were stranded together at sea for 118 days in the early 1970’s. The beautiful writing and narrative of this fairly reclusive couple was fascinating, and their survival was amazing. Their life and marriage were unconventional, and they were happy together, despite many struggles and challenges. Narrator for the book also did a beautiful job. Highly recommended!

Part 2

Great listen. Build and crests like a wave. Or a life. A mediation on marriage

It could have been a dull tale, but narrator was awesome

Narrator, narrative style, story, and I Really couldn’t put it down - except for sleeping I highly recommend this

Marriage demands adapting oneself

I liked getting to know both Morris, withdrawn and thoughtful, and Marilyn, straightforward and positive as they entwined their lives by setting off in what proved to be an unforgettable and often wonderful experience.

the hardships and loyalty

The book was allegorically written. The title of the book is what a marriage is all about for some couples. The regrets and loneliness felt when the ship sinks (death) to the bottom of the sea. Good read.

Fascinating Survival Story

Great performance and quick listen. Survival stories/natural and unnatural disasters are interesting to me. That this couple survived 118 days stranded in the Pacific Ocean is really something, especially given his personality and her being unable to swim.

fascinating survival tale

I enjoyed hearing this story of resilience and survival, the descriptive telling brings you into each moment. I didn't love the pronouncement of the main character's name, Maurice, as "Morris" ( is that the British pronunciation? it just feels incorrect.)