'Zen' Author Cruised While Mentally Ill. Being Underway Helped Him

Robert Pirsig Sought the Opposite of Today’s Connectivity

Robert Pirsig and his wife Wendy careen their Westsail 32 Arête for bottom painting.

PART 2: So, an online therapy mill sees American cruisers and sailor-wannabees as fertile ground for new patients. Here’s a story about a famous mentally ill author who went to sea—and got better—before connectivity was a thing.

A lot of you may remember that 1974 mega-se…