A Marriage at Sea

A True Story of Love, Obsession, and Shipwreck

De: Sophie Elmhirst

Narrado por: Marisa Calin

THE RUNAWAY NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER & ONE OF BARACK OBAMA’S FAVORITE BOOKS OF 2025

“This is nonfiction that reads like fiction – the best kind. Elmhirst’s retelling is a triumph, second only to the seemingly impossible feat of Maurice and Maralyn themselves. You won’t be able to put it down.” – USA Today

“Remarkable… I found myself, alternately, holding my breath as I read at top speed, wandering rooms in search of someone to read aloud to, and placing the book facedown, arrested by quiet statements that left me reeling with their depth.” – The New York Times

“Such an emotionally vivid portrait of a couple in isolation that I was shocked it wasn’t fiction. How could a writer get so deeply into the minds of two real people in such extraordinary circumstances? … So brilliantly depicted.” – Elle, Best Books of Summer

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

“An enthralling, engrossing story of survival and the resilience of the human spirit.” —Bill Bryson

An instant New York Times bestseller, this is 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 in June 1972, Maurice and Maralyn 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.

Riveting and Poignant

This book, about the incredible experience of Maurice and Maralyn Bailey’s 118 days adrift on the Pacific Ocean and the unusual years that followed, is a fascinating portrait of how an extreme experience can change people. This book is incredibly well-written and read exceptionally well. This book reminds me of Steven Callahan’s amazing book, ADRIFT. If you liked that book you will love this one.

A beautiful and fascinating story

So lovely that these two very particular people found each other. Their relationship and survival tactics make this a gripping read.

Mixed bag

The story has been told before, although there are some interesting additions in this. The narration has moments that are very choppy and disconcerting

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.

Relationship and survival

Reasonable well written story of a couple adrift for 117 days. Narration fine but not riveting

True story of complex personalities.

True story of complex personalities. Harrowing, a little sad heartfelt, human condition. Well presented and soothing voice.

A quick intriguing read

I liked how despite the Protagonist depression, the love of his life stuck with him. Even when he didn’t make sage decisions. It truly was a love story.

The power of a positive mind

Very interesting story. Thought provoking! Amazing how one person truly is the difference in one's life.

I don’t know how I feel lol

I don’t really know how to summarize this one. Stressful, long and drawn out, sad, pulls on heartstrings, way too much detail on how to kill and eat animals especially sea turtles (I understand they had to survive but it was way too much detail for me). It was made more interesting knowing that it was a real couple and I do think the author did a good job with her research and had a peaceful writing vibe. I don’t know how to summarize my thoughts on this one which is why this is all over the place. This will be an odd book club conversation. 2.75 ⭐️

Lovely story. Well written and performed.

The story of two people so well matched that they abandon a safe life for sailing across the Pacific should be a movie. Very good writing and reading.