Out Of The Fog!: A Story of Survival, Faith and Courage

Description

Sandra CH Smith had everything...marriage, children, elegant home, exciting social life and a successful journalism career. But when a motorist hit her head on, she suffered for almost a year as a recluse with long-term retrograde amnesia. Cognac and French wine soon took insidious control. At 35, she fearfully opened the door of a 12-Step recovery program. Two years later, with a shared-custody arrangement in place, to protect and nourish her hard-won sobriety, Smith walked away with just $600 in her pocket to rebuild her life. At eight years sober, with no knowledge of sailing, the author bought a 35-foot sailboat and taught herself to sail. Without electronics or radar, she embarked mostly alone, occasionally with her rebellious teenaged daughter, on the 2,555-day adventure with just a compass, a chart and a prayer. The spiritual odyssey gave mother and daughter a chance to begin healing their fragile relationship. Smith's book offers a heart-warming, sometimes humorous, sometimes terrifying testament to triumph over adversity. "Out of the Fog!" provides painful but compelling insights into overcoming addiction as well as solving relationship issues. The book illustrates the power of hope, faith and courage in facing the difficulties of recovery and in healing relationships. It is an intimate narrative of how a woman tackled life-threatening challenges on land and at sea and emerged strong, fearless and independent.

Sandra CH Smith, at age 11, spent the school year in the Scottish Highlands and all her spare time exploring dark, dank dungeons. As a Beatnik teen in San Francisco's North Beach, she hung out with Kesey, Ginsberg and other Beat writers. Thirty years later, Lawrence Ferlinghetti was a frequent guest/crew aboard her hot pink sailboat docked at Pier 39. After studying Foreign Affairs and International Economics at GW Univ. in D.C. where she served as constituent liaison for U.S. Senator Wayne Morse, Smith went on to obtain a Master's degree in French Studies from Grenoble Univ., France, becoming an expert on French wines, cheeses and Cognac. Her past high-profile careers include: assistant to Hewlett-Packard's director in Geneva, Switz.; lobbyist for major Arts and Cultural organizations including The Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia and The Franklin Institute; director of Santa Cruz County Arts Council and Springfield (MO) Regional Arts Council; newspaper editor; Shakespearean/dramatic actor with many companies including Phila. Opera, Pennsylvania Opera and San Francisco Opera; exec. chef; owner-innkeeper; and while single-handed sailing the Pacific, host of her own on-board As The Anchor Drags radio show. Now in joyful recovery from alcoholism, Smith continues to celebrate many years of sobriety. She is currently working on a sequel to Out of the Fog! A Story of Survival, Faith and Courage which promises to be packed with more of her sea-going adventures. For info: SandraCHSmith.com