Aiming to sail her way into the record books, Abby Sunderland found herself in the headlines instead when her round-the-world effort ended in disaster.

Now the 16-year-old has told the story of her dramatic 12,000-mile journey in Unsinkable: A Young Woman’s Courageous Battle on the High Seas, releasing next month from Thomas Nelson.

Written with New York Times best-selling co-author Lynn Vincent, the $22.99 book recounts how Sunderland was shipwrecked nearly 2,000 miles east of Madagascar.

“The morning after I rolled I was sitting on my chart desk, and I was starting to think a little bit too much about what was happening, so I prayed, and just seconds after I prayed, a huge plane flew over me,” Sunderland recalled.

“It’s said that at some point in any sailor’s life, they are going to reach their limit and they’re going to reach their breaking point and call on the Lord—and that was mine there. He came through for me. I’d been a strong Christian throughout my whole trip and came out an even stronger one in the end.”

The teenager hopes that her story will inspire others to “see that you can follow your dreams. Things don’t always work out, but it’s good to go for it.”

Read more in the April issue of Christian Retailing.

• Prev
• Next