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Navigating Grace by Jeff Jay

Navigating Grace by Jeff Jay

“I had a growing allergy to everything commonplace, and I was determined to do something marvelous, something men only talk about and then regret not doing. I already knew what it took to sail all night in a storm, to navigate beyond sight of land, to live in the luxurious whisper of the wind.”

NAVIGATING GRACE: A Solo Voyage of Survival and Redemption (Hazelden; September 1, 2015; $15.95; Original Trade Paperback) by Jeff Jay is his inspirational true story of survival, faith, and chasing a dream. Sailing is an adventure many people aspire to take, but Jeff’s journey soon turned into a nightmare that tested his inner strength and almost cost him his life.

After a series of personal tragedies, Jeff needed time for reflection and solitude, which prompted him to realize his dream of living on the open sea. His experience sailing with his father during his childhood and teenage years helped prepare Jeff for the voyage he would embark on, but the “white whale of a boat” he purchased was twenty years old and in desperate need of repairs. Jeff named it “Lifeboat” and set sail from Maryland to his selected destination of the Caribbean. He also planned on using Lifeboat as a “floating men’s halfway house for those who struggle with chronic relapse” and to take those clients through the Twelve Steps of AA.

En route to the Caribbean, a brutal storm appeared that almost destroyed Lifeboat; rain beat down on Jeff, fierce waves attempted to overturn the boat which almost sank. Jeff compares this battle with his struggle against alcoholism as he reminisced how he finally got sober. Trapped in the darkness of the open water all alone, Jeff relied on his faith to see him through this most terrifying time.

NAVIGATING GRACE is a heartfelt and motivating true story that:

  • Tells of Jeff’s dangerous boat trip to the Caribbean that almost took his life
  • Reveals how Jeff survived the storm and found redemption
  • Recalls Jeff’s battle with alcoholism and how he found the strength to get sober
  • Describes Jeff’s unique vision to use Lifeboat for mobile addiction counseling
  • Includes a glossary of nautical terms, a map of Jeff’s voyage, and diagrams of Lifeboat

NAVIGATING GRACE is an intensely personal testimonial to calling on the power of grace in our darkest hours and those miraculous moments that change our lives forever.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Jeff Jay is a certified addiction specialist, popular speaker and consultant, and co-author with Debra Jay of the best-selling book Love First. His work has appeared on CNN, The Jane Pauley Show, PBS, Forbes Online and numerous professional journals. He is a graduate of the University of Minnesota, and has served as president of the Terry McGovern Foundation in Washington, DC, and as trustee for several clinical and professional organizations.

ABOUT HAZELDEN:
The Hazelden Betty Ford Foundation is a force of healing and hope for individuals, families and communities affected by addiction to alcohol and other drugs. It is the nation’s largest nonprofit treatment provider, with a legacy that began in 1949 and includes the 1982 founding of the Betty Ford Center. With 15 sites in California, Minnesota, Oregon, Illinois, New York, Florida, Massachusetts, Colorado and Texas, the Foundation offers prevention and recovery solutions nationwide and across the entire continuum of care for youth and adults.

Navigating Grace: A Solo Voyage of Survival and Redemption
By Jeff Jay
Hazelden Publishing
Publication Date: September 1, 2015
ISBN-13: 978-1616496166
Original Trade Paperback
Price: $15.95
Pages: 220 pp.
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