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theconstantreader's review
4.0
You don't need to be a surfer to appreciate the interesting life that McNamara has cultivated for himself. I really enjoyed reading about his life, the re-telling of which felt very honest and open for the most part.
More than anything, I appreciated hearing about the trials and tribulations. McNamara's journey wasn't delivered on a silver platter but things worked out nonetheless. There's some serious merit in that. When he talked about thinking his pro-surfing career was over in his thirties only to go on and tackle the largest waves in the world (like actually the very biggest, record breaking waves) later in his life was really inspirational. It can get easy to get caught up in the day to day and think that this is the peak of your career or the most important thing you'll ever work on but this book leaves me excited for the future and wondering what my next 33 years will deliver.
There's a lot to be said for going out and giving things a red-hot-go. McNamara has left me thinking about purpose. About getting in touch with the why and then going after it. I also appreciate how he shared how he set his goals, devised his plan and went to work. This is not a self-help book but it also kind of is.
The only bit of criticism I have is that I did feel that on certain subjects McNamara went a bit light on. Like when talking about drugs, his brother and his first marriage ending. I can understand this may have been out of protection but it carved out what felt like blindspots.
More than anything, I appreciated hearing about the trials and tribulations. McNamara's journey wasn't delivered on a silver platter but things worked out nonetheless. There's some serious merit in that. When he talked about thinking his pro-surfing career was over in his thirties only to go on and tackle the largest waves in the world (like actually the very biggest, record breaking waves) later in his life was really inspirational. It can get easy to get caught up in the day to day and think that this is the peak of your career or the most important thing you'll ever work on but this book leaves me excited for the future and wondering what my next 33 years will deliver.
There's a lot to be said for going out and giving things a red-hot-go. McNamara has left me thinking about purpose. About getting in touch with the why and then going after it. I also appreciate how he shared how he set his goals, devised his plan and went to work. This is not a self-help book but it also kind of is.
The only bit of criticism I have is that I did feel that on certain subjects McNamara went a bit light on. Like when talking about drugs, his brother and his first marriage ending. I can understand this may have been out of protection but it carved out what felt like blindspots.
mgs819's review against another edition
2.0
This guy has a really fascinating childhood and life story. He *maybe* banged his head around too many times on the surfboard because the actual memoir isn't the best writing I have ever read. But a really cool person nonetheless.
wherescoco's review
5.0
From a really remarkable nomadic childhood, to his rise to become a record holding big-wave surfer... I sped through this in just a few hours. Loved the pacing, the tone (actually pretty funny!) and surfing has always really fascinated me. On the lookout for more like this!
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