After two failed marriages, forty-eight-year-old Rosie Atkisson struggles through the painful process of rebuilding her life with her husband, Jesse, in Southern California. But the settled rhythm of her newfound comfort is interrupted by a tug in her heart when she encounters a haunting photo of another aging lady, the World War II vessel MS Restoration . A special mission to transport Russian Jews from Sochi, Russia, to Haifa, Israel, means an adventure of a lifetime; does she dare pass up this dangerous assignment that will take her thousands of miles from her family and comfortable life? In spite of her fear of water and the unknown condition of the ship, Rosie thinks this might be the opportunity she's been waiting for to serve God. After surviving fourteen months on board the old ship-from a hurricane to a heart attack, from miracles to menopause, and now being held at gunpoint in the Haifa harbor-Rosie wonders if she will ever return to her own safe harbor. "Rosie's vulnerability, sensitivity and honesty will endear readers, and the supporting characters are rich enough to have readers wonder what happened to them after the last chapter comes to a close." Kristen Gordon, My Carolina Town Several years after returning home from volunteering on the WWII ship  Restoration in 1995, I felt there was a story I had to tell...not only about the crew, the volunteers, and the purpose of the old World War II ship, but about the ship's full story, from her beginnings in World War II up until her majestic make-over and voyage from Seattle, Washington to Europe, Scandinavia, Greece, Russia, and Israel.  I share  how God took the old ship out of 'moth balls'  and transformed a forgotten, deteriorated vessel into a beautiful ship of miracles.  If God can do that for a ship, how much more can He do with our lives? My hope is that every reader will find faith for their forgotten dreams.  Remember, you cannot discover new oceans until you are willing to lose sight of the shore.  Oceans of blessings and happy sailing! Within minutes of entering the Haifa harbor, and Israeli gunboat sped from the port and circled the World War II vessel. Two soldiers aimed their deck-mounted machine guns at the MS Restoration. An Israeli soldier shouted instructions through a loud speaker in his native Hebrew. The ship, the crew, their special passengers--the Russian Jews--had finally reached their destination. No more troubled waters. No more hurricanes. No more delays. On this hot July morning, they were home-free, or so they thought. Rosie had heard stories about people who had experienced close-call situations. Her seventy-year-old father once told her about the time his ship almost went down in the China Sea during the war. "At that moment, my whole life passed before me," he said. Now, as the Israeli soldiers glared at the Restoration through their high-tech binoculars, Rosie knew this was her moment. Since turning forty, Sharon Leaf has traveled to over twenty countries, including living in Sweden while attending Bible college, traveling on the Trans-Siberian Railway, and volunteering on a World War II ship in 1994-95, whose sole purpose was to transport Russian Jews from the Sochi, Russia, to Haifa, Israel. She received a degree in theology at sixty, proving that it's never too late to fulfill another dream. Lady and the Sea is a novel based on Sharon's life. She lives in South Carolina with her husband. sharonleaf.com