Sue Williams never dreamed of being a writer. And she certainly didn’t dream of sailing across an ocean. So how is it possible that she is now the author of a memoir about her voyage across the Atlantic and back? Well, as you will learn if you read “Ready to Come About” (Dundurn Press), people can do remarkable things when they set their mind to it. And Sue Williams did just that.
Williams was an occupational therapist. She helped people find dignity and hope in difficult times. She loved her work. Her creative outlet since childhood was textile art; her diary unused. Although she happily joined in family sailing vacations, she didn’t know a jib from a jibe.
But Sue’s husband David Williams did have a life-long dream to cross an ocean. And when he found himself unemployed in his 50s, Sue sat up in bed one night and said, “This is your opportunity.” Then she surprised herself by saying “and I’ll go too.” That’s when she set her mind to the crossing.
Sue had already been thinking she and David needed to give a little more space to their three grown sons who were striving to chart their own paths in life. A year abroad would certainly achieve that, she reasoned. That journey of letting go as a parent would become the emotional back story of her book.
Sue and David put their lives in Guelph on hold and departed Hamilton harbour in May 2007. After a “rocky” start, more things went wrong. Things like a rogue fishing net taking out their engine in the middle of the ocean. Storms. More storms. Sea sickness. One day in the midst of it all Sue said to David, “If either of us could write, this would make a good book.” David was far too busy as captain, so that’s when Sue set her mind to writing a book. She created an outline and started fleshing it out from her trip journals and “sail mail” messages.
When they got back (sorry, spoiler) Sue wrote while working full-time as an OT. But then life happened and Sue had to shelve her book for four years. That turned out to be a good thing: “After that break I could look at it objectively.”
That’s when Sue dove into writing courses. She learned to cut anything that didn’t propel the narrative forward – even if it was good. And not to tell the same story twice: “There are only so many words for wind and waves.” She cut her draft from 130,000 words to 90,000.
Sue hit a turning point in 2016 when her agent asked for a manuscript within a year. David encouraged her to quit her job, after more than 30 years as an OT. “I missed it at first,” Sue says, “but it was the right decision.”
In February 2018 Sue signed with publisher Dundurn Press of Toronto, and her book launched to a full house at The Bookshelf’s eBar on June 6, 2019. Sue then headed off on a flurry of speaking engagements and signings – another challenge for someone who admits she likes solitude and is terrified of public speaking. Then, on June 21, Sue got “shockingly great news” when The Globe and Mail included “Ready to Come About” on its list of recommended summer reads.
Sue is now 80 pages into writing her next book, which is about home care, a topic close to her heart. “I’m busy with marketing right now,” Sue says, “but I can’t wait to get back to it". We’re sure she will.
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