Laughing at the Sky: Wild Adventure, Bold Dreams, and a Daring Search for a Stolen Childhood

"Powerful, Tender, and Smart." Meredith Hall, New York Times bestselling author "A Gorgeous Adventure Through Courage..." Tessa Fontaine New York Times Editor's Choice author

"I Was Moved and Deeply Affected By It. Brilliant!" Alex Marzano-Lesnevich, Lambda Literary Award-winning author

"Beautiful, Powerful, and Compelling." Anna Moï, World Literature Prize-winning author

Overwhelmed by traumatic PTSD flashbacks, a daring woman embarks on a five-year sailing odyssey to heal from her hidden past. Her quest is to reach the Bay of Virgins in French Polynesia and overcome a childhood scarred by violence and her mother's madness. Sailing her fragile boat beyond remote archipelagos she searches for the final missing piece of her story. What she doesn't realize is that in order to recover, she must first break apart. A tribe of badass characters guide Heidi Love's journey of self-discovery, including a therapist who climbed close to 24,000 feet on Mount Everest; a spirited transgender leader of a matrilineal society; an outrageous Marquesan warrior, and her risk-taking daredevil sidekick, Dennis. Laughing at the Sky is an extraordinary true adventure of healing the emotional wounds of childhood trauma to realize bold dreams. For fans of Cheryl Strayed's Wild and Tami Oldham Ashcraft's Adrift, Heidi Love's memoir powerfully captures the terror and triumph of a woman who risks it all on a life-threatening journey that will ultimately save her.

More Advance Praise

"Few books have affected me as profoundly as Laughing at the Sky. Her true story of transcendence is white-knuckle gripping and achingly beautiful." Nancy Crochiere, author

"It shimmers with courage, resilience, and inspiration." Ashley Davis Bush, author

With profound insights, she shines light on the difficult passage women take as they transmute a history of terror into a present filled with joy." Mary Carroll Moore, bestselling author

"This beautifully written memoir is raw, difficult, and powerful, but uplifting." Madeleine Black, award-winning author

"Laughing at the Sky is masterfully written and will touch readers in a profound way. It's a powerful page turner and the best adventure memoir I've read in years." Liesbet Collaert, bestselling author