Tamar at Sea
Navigating love, loss, secrets and self across the open ocean
A Memoir by Tamar Griggs
Tamar at Sea is a heroine’s journey, a memoir conjured from journal entries and reflections of an adventure lived more than fifty years ago.
After a magical and privileged childhood on the shores of the Pacific Northwest, Tamar Griggs came of age confronted by tragedy and psychological complexities that seemed to her nearly impossible to understand or overcome.
In the summer of 1968, when Tamar was a young adult studying art and dance in New York City, she accepted an invitation for a short sailing holiday in the Mediterranean. Much to her surprise, that brief respite would lead to a year at sea, complete with a shipwreck on the coast of Spain and hitchhiking across the Atlantic Ocean.
Carried by three different boats across thousands of nautical miles, she found herself hurled into trouble, doubt, beauty, laughter, and conversations with the dead. As she sailed along, Tamar simultaneously made her way through a parallel inner journey, confronting darkness and secrets that had haunted her life, and challenged her relationships, keeping joy at bay.
About Tamar at Sea
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I had no intention of writing this book!
I had long wanted to write a story about my mother’s life up until when she met my father. Then I’d write my father’s story up until he met my mother. Then perhaps I’d write my childhood story growing up in the Pacific Northwest.
When I was in my late seventies, I suddenly realized that I better get writing. I wanted to give my daughter and grandkids a glimpse into their remarkable family history.
Intent on researching my mother’s German heritage, I flew to Chicago in October 2019 to gather taped stories from cousins, and to pore over photos and documents. I delighted in the material I collected and couldn’t wait to begin putting together a beautiful book to honor my gentle, loving mother.
I was thrown of course, however. Covid happened.
My daughter was expecting her second baby in March 2020. Like a migrating Canada goose, I flew down the coast to help her family out. Thanks to airline cancellations, and border restrictions due to Covid, I remained in southern California for the next five months. This was a true blessing.
I knew it would drive me nuts not to have a creative project. I couldn’t work on my mother’s story because all of my research was back at home. Well, I could write my own story! I didn’t need much research for that, or so I thought. I dove deep into my memory, and the internet, and over the course of five months drafted the first forty years of my life. I was astonished by what I discovered. It was especially rewarding to be able to learn more about the incredible people who have influenced my life.
After I returned to Canada with the first draft of my story in hand, I sent it off to an editor in New York City. She suggested I focus on the one year of my life that I’d spent at sea. My daughter had wanted me to write about my sailing adventures, so this idea appealed. However, I wasn’t prepared for what was to come. Writing this memoir opened the door to my past, which called for deep love and compassion for myself and others.
At eighty-one years old, three years after I first sat down to document my life, I finished Tamar at Sea
A glimpse into Tamar at Sea
REVIEWS
Tamar at Sea is a poignant and passionate story shaped by sailing adventures and turning point life choices. This memoir powerfully captures both the inner and outer journeys braved by the author at sea literally and emotionally. This is a courageous tale of tragedy, traumas, and triumphs too. Griggs writes “we were a family of silences orbiting each other in our private worlds of grief.” This book gives voice to this silence in ways that causes a reader to give thought to the silences and adventures in their own life.”
Lynda Monk, Director, International Association for Journal Writing (IAJW.org)
“A riveting, beautifully illustrated memoir. The story is filled with wild adventures, heartbreaks, and personal resilience. I was captivated by Tamar at Sea.”
Jan Mangan, photographer, and entrepreneur
“Through images painted in words, I sensed the seeds of Tamar’s motivations, her hidden fears, and a hint of her loves as she brings forth a Hemingway’s spirit, writing “hard and clear about what hurts.”
Susan Close, author and founder of SmartLearning
“Tamar at Sea is a heart-warming and refreshingly honest look back at the celestial navigation times of our lives. You're going to love going on Tamar's voyage as much as we did, including the chapters we read to one another mixing tears with laughter”
Dr. Ken Druck, Ken Druck, Ph.D., best-selling author, How We Go On: Self-Compassion, Courage and Gratitude on the Path Forward http://www.howwegoon.com
In the vast expanse of the ocean, a narrative unfolds. A little girl constructs an improvised sail for her dinghy, igniting within her a lifelong passion for nautical exploits. Join her on a journey where sibling love intertwines with heartache as her father's decision sends her to a distant boarding school, fracturing her self-assurance at a tender age.
In the bustling streets of New York, now a young woman, her odyssey continues. Marked by the loss of her cherished sister and moved by the revelation of her free spirit, she seeks solace in artistic expression. Through dance, painting, and photography, she confronts her grief head-on.
"Tamar At Sea" charts the course of this young woman, her quest not just for a destination but for sanctuary. As her passion for oceanic voyages calls her forth, she sets sail from the shores of Europe to the enchanting beaches of the West Indies.
Along the way, you'll experience the depths of her sorrow and loss, at times aggravated by her eccentric shipmates. Yet amid the soothing rhythm of the waves, whispers of redemption flutter in the breeze, offering solace to the intrepid voyager's heart and soul.
Chantal Drolet, MET Adjunct Professor, University of British Columbia