When Adventure Turns Into Addiction

We have all heard the expression "adventure on the high seas". It bings to mind sailers, endles ocean waves, exotic ports with white sands and endless sun. For some, that may be true, but all to often, that adventure turns sour. This is just the case with Darryl Hagar, author of the newly release The Man Overboard: “How a Merchant Marine Officer Survived the Raging Storm of Alcoholism and Drug Addiction”

A graduate of Maine Maritime Academy, class of ‘85, Hagar went to sea as an Able Body Seaman with Military Sealift Command where his role focused on ship maintenance, maintaining mooring lines as the ship’s cargo was loaded and unloaded, and steering the ship in and out of port. After a year-long stint with Crest Oil Tankers, in 1987 he moved on to Maritime Overseas Corporation and gained the designation Third Mate where he was responsible for standing the bridge watch, supervising the able body seaman, ensuring shipboard safety practices were adhered to and was in charge of running the ship’s pumps and valves during the loading and unloading process. Promoted to Second Mate in 1990 Hagar attained his professional goal of becoming the ship’s navigator. The navigator’s primary role is laying out the voyage, maintaining charts, radar and other electronics and includes the responsibility of ship’s radio operator. Moving on to Alaska Tanker Company in 1999, Hagar earned Chief Mate status. He retired from the industry in 2005.

Now Hagar calls the Port of Portland, Maine his home where he lives with his 9 year old son, Darryl II. Since completing his memoir he is preparing for a nationwide book tour beginning in March. He still spends significant time visiting jails, colleges and high schools talking about drug and alcohol dependency and helping people spot trouble signs of addiction – all the while carrying forward the message that no matter how far you’ve sunk, there is hope for recovery.

The Man Overboard is Darryl's story--a vivid account of one man’s tumultuous 25 year round-the-world odyssey, shrouded in the haze of drugs and a sea of alcohol, and punctuated by indulgence, abuse, fear, illicit sex, violence, and frequent jail time, is painstakingly and painfully documented in this 500 page memoir.

Drawn in by the compelling tales and sometimes exotic settings, readers will be shocked at this glimpse into the little-exposed epidemic of addiction at sea, and will come away amazed there aren’t more shipping disasters like the Exxon Valdez. But it’s the drama when Hagar returns home and his struggle through recovery that makes the book real and relatable. A broken relationship, nearly losing custody of his son, and alienation from his family and friends are just some of the costs Hagar pays and portrays faithfully in his 500 page memoir The Man Overboard.

The Man Overboard; Darryl Hagar; Trade Paperback; 590 pages; 6” x 9”; Publication Date: March 24th 2009

For more information on Darryl and his book, please visit:

http://www.themanoverboard.com/

and please come back tomorrow when I will share a video of a speech by Darryl Hagar.