Marriage at Sea. Sophie Elmhirst

This is the true story of the survival and rescue of Marilyn and Maurice, a couple who, after being shipwrecked by a whale, spent 117 days adrift in the Pacific Ocean.

Maurice and Marilyn decide to sell their house, buy a yacht and set off on a long journey from Britain to New Zealand. During the journey, their boat is hit by a whale, and the couple is left alone on a tiny raft in the middle of the Pacific Ocean.

Without communication, with almost no food supplies and on the verge of physical exhaustion, they were forced to rely only on their wits and the power of their love to survive where the chances of survival seemed slim. This is not only a story about fighting the elements, but also about human endurance, love and the decision not to give up.

"Marriage at Sea" is on The New York Times' list of the ten best books of 2025, winner of the Nero Awards Gold Prize and dozens of other prestigious awards, as well as Barack Obama's Book of the Year.