AUTHOR ENDORSEMENTS:
The Box Wine Sailors is not about adjusting sails to match the wind. It is about adjusting lives to match a dream. Wisely or foolishly—you get to decide—Amy and her partner seek adventure, freedom, and togetherness aboard a small sailboat on a big ocean. What makes this tale unique is that its narrator is twenty something. For millennials focused on "success" since pre-kindergarten, such abandon is rare, which is too bad because experiencing life beyond the comfort zone rewards one with an unimaginable high. In Amy's words, "You don't get to feel that—until you've actually done it. All the way." If you imagine yourself living life on the edge but consider such an adventure beyond your reach, read this book.
—Don Casey, author of This Old Boat
McCullough is an uninhibited and engaging storyteller and the book fairly sizzles with joie de vivre. I wish all 20-somethings did something like this—the world would be filled with better-adjusted human beings. —Peter Nielsen, SAIL Magazine
Highly romantic on every level in a very hip and modern way, this is such a well-written, great adventure and love story! I would recommend it to any two people taking on something that feels too big to handle as proof of what is possible, given the will to try and the determination to succeed. Bravo!
—Tania Aebi, author of Maiden Voyage
Love, courage and a generous helping of lunacy are ingredients for the best kind of adventure stories. If you’re looking for the inspiration to throw it all in and set sail, this is it. —Torre DeRoche, author of Love with a Chance of Drowning
Beware: after reading this book, you'll have the urge to do wonderful, stupid things. This book makes you want to live, but like REALLY live. It makes you want to change your life, to take risks you never thought you had the courage to take. Because that's what Amy and Jimmie do. So many people talk about living a life of adventure, disregarding the pressures and demands of mainstream society, but how many actually do it? Almost none. And the thing about this book that will get under your skin is that it's not that hard. These guys didn't know jack about sailing, didn't have six figures in the bank, didn't have a backup plan. They just bought a boat and hit the high seas. Is that advisable? Nope. Could they have died? It sounds like that could have happened on several occasions. But they're here to tell the tale. The Box Wine Sailors is a wake-up call to a generation of apathetic hipsters sitting at home pretending life is meaningless. —Dale Bridges, author of Justice, Inc.
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The author and Cotton in Bahía San Quintín, northern Baja.
WHAT READERS ARE SAYING:
I'm an avid sailor, so I checked this book out from the library, but I expected to read a little and quickly lose interest. But I found it impossible to put down. The sailing story is fun, but it's much more than a book about sailing. And it's written so no knowledge of sailing is needed to enjoy reading the book. I relived the captivating wonders of "discovering" sailing about 40 years ago, my own adventures and misadventures (that naysayers also told me I couldn't do), and most important - the unique beauty and exhilaration sailing/boating adds to a full life for many, certainly me. [Amy's] writing style is charming and imaginative, with interesting backstory flashbacks that fill out the story. I believe a life with no risk taking may be a life not fully lived, and the book epitomizes that essential lesson. Jimmie and Amy push their limits, within reason, and reap great rewards as a result. If you like stories of adventurous spirits, with a hip young vibe, you won't be able to put this book down either. —Amazon review
I was attracted by the premise of this book, and I wasn't disappointed. The story here will resonate with so many people. The desire to retire from the world and pursue a dream is portrayed exquisitely by Amy McCullough. Her voice is so clear in her writing, and her words both poetic and poignant. If you are a sailing aficionado, the details are accurate and compelling. If you are a dreamer, this story will confirm your choices, I am so glad I read this lovely memoir. I think it would make an excellent book discussion selection, as there are so many themes to discuss and debate. —Amazon review
 This is a true life story, delightfully written of desire and courage by a young couple choosing to take time out from daily routines to have an adventure facing, for them, the unknown. Well worth your time. —Amazon review
Glad to have vicariously experienced Amy and Jimmie's brave, terrifying, and profoundly cool adventure. —Barnes & Noble review
 I've read every Amazon Kindle book about sailing and this is the only review I have ever written. I loved this book! Most sailing books recite the daily activities from the ship's logbook and maybe add some details. Amy is a genuine, bona-fide writer. She has a gift, a great talent for writing. I would compare her writing to Tim Cahill. Very creative. The quality of the writing is superb, way ahead of any other kindle sailing books and probably better than most books in general. I read sentences from the book to friends because I am so impressed with some of the writing. Here's a description of one of their anchorages: "The wall of land to the north was chunky and salt-gray near the sea, with shrubby pines dotting its ridges; closer in were slopes the color and texture of busted-up pie crust, their surface crowded with the peeling trunks of towering eucalyptus. Narrow ravines were stuffed with giant grasses, light sage stalks topped with immaculate tan feathery tips, inspiring thoughts of dinosaurs." Amy, please write more! I would love to read more of your writing. —Amazon review