First You Have to Row a Little Boat

Reflections on Life & Living

By: Richard Bode, Jeffrey Zaslow - introduction

Narrated by: Dan Woren

Now in audio, including a foreword from New York Times bestselling author Jeffrey Zaslow.

FIRST YOU HAVE TO ROW A LITTLE BOAT first hit shelves in the mid 1990s and has been inspiring readers ever since. Written by a grown man looking back on his childhood, it reflects on what learning to sail taught him about life: making choices, adapting to change, and becoming his own person. Available for the first time as an audiobook, it is filled with the spiritual wisdom and thought-provoking discoveries that marked such books as Walden, The Prophet, and Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance. For nearly twenty years, FIRST YOU HAVE TO ROW A LITTLE BOAT has enchanted and endeared sailors and non-sailors alike, but foremost, anyone who seeks large truths in small things. This audio edition will find a place in the hearts of a whole new generation.

Critic reviews

"Bode uses his great love of sailing as a metaphor for the tides of life... Determinedly inspirational, this book will appeal to admirers of Robert Fulghum." --Publisher's Weekly (starred review)

"Bode is adept at pulling messages out of ordinary experiences. The images he creates are simple and clear, and so are the lessons he derives from them." --Kirkus Reviews

"If you feel lost on this great sea of life, this book is a compass. Its powerful words will carry you like a gentle breeze toward companionship, toward love, toward the deepest self you are called to be. It will ultimately lead you home." --Regina Brett, author of God Never Blinks: 50 Lessons for Life's Little Detours

"This is a wonderful book, warm and thoughtful and beautifully written. It has a great deal of practical wisdom to offer us all in our complicated lives, but beyond that it is a work of sheer grace. No one who reads it will ever forget it." --Reeve Lindbergh, author of Forward from Here

"What a wonderful book it is! Pure Joy." --Walter Cronkite

"Even without knowing a lot about sailing, I was charming by its wisdom and passion." --Harold S. Kushner, author of When Bad Things Happen to Good People

"Such an imaginative way to compare our sport of sailing to life. I really enjoyed how Richard shares his experience of sailing and how subconsciously it was preparing him for growth. Keeping life simple and appreciating the little things rather than getting caught up in the race or the idea of the adventure is an aspect of life that is easily forgotten these days." --Anna Tunnicliffe, 2008 Olympic Gold Medalist in sailing

"Richard Bode's writing is effortlessly sublime, like ghosting along on a smooth sea on a sunny day towards a destination even more rewarding than one had imagined. First You Have to Row a Little Boat reveals the most powerful but rarely discussed lures of messing about in boats. In Bode's fine memoir, sailors and landlubbers alike discover how sailing can transcend sport to shape our lifestyles and philosophies, and how the exploratory machines people use to venture upon the sea are not just playthings but powerful tools with which we plumb the depths of ourselves." -Steven Callahan, New York Times bestselling author of Adrift: 76 Days Lost at Sea

"Richard Bode uses his lifetime knowledge of sailing to steer his personal ship to a new port through a stormy time of life. Literally a voyage of discovery, he takes his silent desperation to the sea for solace. A must read for men stalled in "irons" and for the women who love them." --Joan Anderson, author of A Year by the Sea

"A simple title leads to an inspirational story. All of us can live better lives thanks to Rick Bode's narrative." --Gary Jobson, America's Cup winner and ESPN sailing commentator

Awesome

Loved it, just get the book. In my wish list a long time, Should of got long time ago. This is one book that I'll listen to again and again.

amazing

great book . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. .. .
. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

Good book about life with a sailing twist.

I enjoyed this book. The narrator does a great job too. Makes me think of how fast my children are growing up while getting me psyched about future sailing endeavors.

Great book

Insightful and thought provoking. Like a guide book for aging and living, would recommend it to sailors and non sailors alike. Everyone can glean wisdom from this book.

Always Remembered

I have read this book at least twice over the past few years. While on a beach vacation, I decided I would listen to it this time around. The stories seemed to come even more to life through the listening. The stories and insightful life points were and will always be remembered by me. The author knows how to bring the reader/listener in and makes applicable life lessons out of the story told. Or perhaps he just reveals what is already there. This is at least 3 times for me to know this book and it will not be the last. What a blessing Mr. Bode shared with the world. I am forever grateful.