Kindle Pick of the Week: Ferry to Cooperation Island

US Olympic sailor Carol Newman Cronin, who competed in Athens in 2004, knows what it’s like to be an athlete in uncertain times. And she has a new novel coming out in June to prove it.

On September 12, 2001, while on her way to a regatta in preparation for the Games, she “sailed” right past the still-smoking remains of the Twin Towers. The whole world had shifted on its axis, paralyzed with shock and fear. Yet Carol sailed on.

Sailors, she points out, are uniquely trained to adapt to a constant barrage of uncertainty.  Sticking to her schedule right after 9/11 was her way of holding onto something normal so she could be mentally prepared to chart her course—whatever it might be. She also knew it was her only way to offer hope to her many followers.

Loner James Malloy is a ferry captain—or used to be, until he was unceremoniously fired and replaced by a girl named Courtney Farris. Now, instead of piloting Brenton Island’s daily lifeline to the glitzy docks of Newport, Rhode Island, James spends his days beached, bitter, and bored.

When he discovers a private golf course staked out across wilderness sacred to his dying best friend, a Narragansett Indian, James is determined to stop such “improvements.” But despite Brenton’s nickname as “Cooperation Island,” he’s used to working solo. To keep rocky bluffs, historic trees, and ocean shoreline open to all, he’ll have to learn to cooperate with other islanders—including Captain Courtney, who might just morph from irritant to irresistible once James learns a secret that’s been kept from him for years.

"Loner James Malloy is a ferry captain—or used to be, until he was unceremoniously fired and replaced by a girl named Courtney Farris. Now, instead of piloting Brenton Island’s daily lifeline to the glitzy docks of Newport, Rhode Island, James spends his days beached, bitter, and bored.

When he discovers a private golf course staked out across wilderness sacred to his dying best friend, a Narragansett Indian, James is determined to stop such “improvements.” But despite Brenton’s nickname as “Cooperation Island,” he’s used to working solo. To keep rocky bluffs, historic trees, and ocean shoreline open to all, he’ll have to learn to cooperate with other islanders—including Captain Courtney, who might just morph from irritant to irresistible once James learns a secret that’s been kept from him for years."

This page turner has it all. A man on a mission, nature and overcoming obstacles.

Cronin calls the theme of this book, a familiar message of hope, “When you can’t change the direction of the wind, adjust your sails.”

Aspiring Olympians from all sports are taught to recalibrate disappointments into opportunity— and so must we all.  Drawing on her experience as an Olympian and sailor, Cronin offers these nuggets of wisdom that everybody—athletes, fans and citizens everywhere—can find hope in right now.

Pre-order here:

https://www.amazon.com/Ferry-Cooperation-Island-Newman-Cronin-ebook/dp/B07VBK47J6