In January, 1958, a renowned sailing family was lost in a storm in the Bermuda Triangle. The youngest of two daughters, Sarah, suddenly an orphan, grew up never knowing her parents and grandparents. As an adult, she began to pursue the mystery of her family and their disappearance, and discovered that their stories were far different from the versions she was told. Sarah Conover's memoir follows the national media's investigation of the Revonoc's vanishing, and exposes the truths that led her to "unstory" the family history, creating a new understanding of their lives, and hers.

Set Adrift weaves Conover's superbly written memoir with interviews, magazine articles, and official Coast Guard reports to chart her fascinating life story. While still infants, she and her sister were the subjects of a custody battle between their grandmother, Mere, and their eventual adoptive parents, Fran and Dick, whose lives, and those of their lost parents and grandparents, were shrouded in myths born of the fight for the girls' affections. Later, Sarah created her own life, and through her personal growth was able to explore the lives of her ancestors, ultimately realizing the truth about both them, and those who remained. Set Adrift begins as a story about loss and loneliness, but blossoms into one of love and belonging.

Praise
"What a journey through the deep mysteries of family, loss, love, and redemption! True to her inheritance, Conover pilots us through her lived experience with the intimate skill and authority of a seasoned sailor, even as she explores the terra incognita of unimaginable grief, confusion, and denial. Beautifully written, imbued with grace, and defined by hope and forgiveness, Set Adrift rocked me, wrecked me, and, finally, brought me home to safe harbor." - Kim Barnes, Pulitzer finalist, author of In the Wilderness: Coming of Age in Unknown Country

"Sarah Conover's Set Adrift is a most captivating memoir. Written in brief, brilliant chapters, this gripping story unfolds elegantly. Though the book begins with a shocking maritime disaster, and returns with perfect pacing to the mystery itself, it's a compassionate study in reclamation of facts, identities and relationships, extending for a lifetime. It's a seeker's journey through complexity, rich with family voices, scenes, devotions, and fresh reckonings. You'll feel your own life and difficulties fall into relief as you read. I love this book with all my heart." - Naomi Shihab Nye, Young People’s Poet Laureate (Poetry Foundation)

"Raised by a family who imagined grief could be tamed the way (they trusted) their racing yachts would tame dangerous ocean currents, Sarah Conover shows resilience and courage as she pieces together the fragments of her broken life, undertaking a wide-ranging journey to discover what 'home' might mean to the orphaned; what a restless spirit might indicate; and how deeply damaging entrenched family mythology can be. 'This is not a memoir,' Conover writes, 'this is the unwriting of fictions.' A triumph, exquisitely written and observed." - Leslie Pietrzyk, author of Admit This to No One