Captain Sandy Yawn has been filling in for Captain Lee Roshbach on Below Deck this season. Her time on the motor yacht St. David has been anything but smooth. But that’s okay. Sandy lived an entire life before becoming the captain of a super yacht. She wrote all about it in her new book, Be the Calm or Be the Storm.
Sandy recently gave an interview to People to share parts of her book and her personal life story with fans. She discussed her intention in writing the book was to help others succeed and triumph over adversity. Sandy wrote the book in hopes that detailing her own “rock bottom” of addiction and eventual rise to become a leader in the maritime industry would help motivate those in need.
Captain Sandy revealed that she comes from a family with generations of substance abuse issues She endured an uprooted teen life and lived between her parents’ homes. Eventually, she found herself in a life of alcohol and drug abuse that led to arrests and even life-threatening incidents.
“Someone’s keeping me alive for a reason,” Sandy said. “I should have been dead 10 times over with the lifestyle I led.”
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Sandy admitted she “felt bad” for what she put her family through during her troubled teen years and young adulthood. She noted that writing her book was cathartic and added that showing the final product to her loved ones gave them a chance to see her perspective.
“I have no shame and no fear. Everybody saw me when I was a mess. I’ve seen the bottom so I have nothing to fear,” Sandy explained. “My goal for the details of my past struggle is to show people, like CEOs of companies, that if you invest and actually help someone, the return on investment is tenfold because you are helping them change,” she added.
In her book, Sandy reveals that she woke up one day when she was 25, and simply decided she was tired of the drinking and hangovers. She committed to sobriety at that moment and found the path that led her to captaining mega yachts all over the world.
“I wanted to show people that you can change,” Sandy said. “There is hope and if you are in the art of self leadership, anything is possible.” You go girl!
TELL US – WILL YOU BE READING CAPTAIN SANDY’S NEW BOOK?
[Photo Credit: Dimitrios Kambouris/Getty Images]
