{"product_id":"yellow-finch-a-black-bikini-and-a-rat-called-hernandez-wendy-fredell-9798900520155","title":"The Yellow Finch, a Black Bikini, and a Rat Called Hernandez: A Memoir","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eI was looking for a sailor to take me away on an adventure.\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eYou can die making love, playing tennis, shoveling snow, mowing the lawn-or walking through Arrivals at an airport, like my husband, Lars. The morning of the day he died I dreamed that my family and I were standing at a bed where he lay with his eyes closed. It was June 28, 2002.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eIn the 1970 movie \u003cem\u003eWoodstock\u003c\/em\u003e, of all the hippies interviewed, one caught my eye: a naked guy sitting on a rock in a pond. \"Do you always swim naked?\" asks the cameraman. With a big toothy grin, he says, \"It's the only way to swim.\" Later in the movie, he's seen on a pay phone talking to his girlfriend. With his wavy blonde hair spilling on to his face he's shouting, \"It's a free concert! The gates are down!\"\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eLee (that hippie) and I met in person some 30 years later in Beaufort, South Carolina. I had recently lost my husband. Lee was looking for a first mate to sail the high seas of the world with him. I was looking for a sailor to take me away on an adventure. Fate brought us together at the perfect moment.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eWendy Fredell has been a model, graphic designer, newspaper contributor, and freelance writer, and has sailed over 24,000 miles to 50 countries. Her essay \"A Budding Genius\" was included in Oprah's book \u003cem\u003eLive Your Best Life\u003c\/em\u003e. When she's not sailing, she lives in Austin, Texas. \u003cem\u003eThe Yellow Finch, a Black Bikini, and a Rat Called Hernandez\u003c\/em\u003e is her debut work.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"River Grove Books","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":49834491510977,"sku":"9798900520155","price":21.95,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0781\/5512\/0833\/files\/9798900520155.jpg?v=1765208106","url":"https:\/\/www.porchlightbooks.com\/products\/yellow-finch-a-black-bikini-and-a-rat-called-hernandez-wendy-fredell-9798900520155","provider":"Porchlight Book Company","version":"1.0","type":"link"}