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In the end I know I rowed across the Atlantic to find my heart but in the beginning I wasnt aware that it was missingIn June Tori McClure began rowing across the Atlantic Ocean solo in a twenty-three-foot plywood boat with no motor or sail Within days she lost all communication with shore but decided to forge ahead -- not knowing that would turn out to be the worst hurricane season on record in the North Atlantic When she was nearly killed by a series of violent storms Tori was forced to signal for help and head home in what felt like disgrace But then her life changed in unexpected ways She was hired by Muhammad Ali who told her she did not want to be known as the woman who almost rowed across the Atlantic And at thirty-five Tori fell in loveA Pearl in the Storm is Toris thrilling true story of high adventure -- and of her personal quest to discover that embracing her own humanity was more important than superhuman feats.
About the Author
Tori Murden McClure
Tori is the President of Spalding University in Louisville, Kentucky. She is best known as the first woman and first American to row solo across the Atlantic Ocean. She rowed a twenty-three foot boat alone and without physical support a distance of more than 3,300 miles. Tori was one of two women and six Americans who were the first women and first Americans to travel over land to the geographic South Pole, skiing 750 miles from the ice shelf to the pole. An avid mountaineer, Tori has climbed on several continents and she was the first woman to climb Lewis Nunatuck summit in Antarctica. She is an Emergency Medical Technician in both urban and wilderness areas. She is also a graduate of the National Outdoor Leadership School semester courses in Alaska and Kenya.
Tori earned her A.B. from Smith College, a Masters in Divinity from Harvard University, a Juris Doctor from the University of Louisville Brandeis School of Law, and a Masters of Fine Arts in Writing from Spalding University. She was admitted to the practice of law in 1995 and is a lawyer in good standing with the Kentucky Bar Association.
Professionally, Tori has worked as Chaplain at Boston City Hospital, the executive director of a shelter for homeless women, as a public policy assistant for the Mayor of Louisville, and she worked for Muhammad Ali to assist with early efforts to create the Muhammad Ali Center in Louisville. Tori serves on the Board of Trustees for Smith College and for the National Outdoor Leadership School.
Tori is the recipient of multiple international honors. Thor Heyerdahl presented her with the Peter Byrd Trophy; Tori was the first woman to be honored with this award. In Paris she was recognized along with Lance Armstrong by L'Academies des Sport for significant sporting achievement. At the Moscow International Festival of Mountaineering and Adventure Films, the French documentary "Beyond Limits - Tori Murden," took the prize for the "Best Foreign Adventure Film," and Dr. Yuri Aleksandrovich Senkevich awarded Tori with a Russian chalice for extraordinary achievements.
Stories about Tori have appeared in more than fifteen books and more than thirty major magazines. Tori has appeared on national television shows including Good Morning America, The Today Show, CNN Domestic and International, The Oprah Winfrey Show, Late Night with David Letterman, Exhale with Candice Bergen, The CBS Evening News with Dan Rather, The Rosie O'Donnel Show, Inside Edition, The 34th Annual Victor Awards (Fox Sports Network) , The Discovery Channel, "Storm Warnings," "Beyond Limits - Tori Murden" French Television TF-1, The Travel Channel "World's Most Dangerous Sporting Events," and National Geographic, "Base Camp."
