The Church is excited to announce this month’s Knowledge Friday with journalist, author, and Sag Harbor resident Amanda M. Fairbanks speaking on her widely praised book The Lost Boys of Montauk. Described by New York Times bestselling author Ron Suskind as “an honest and touching book, and a hell of a story”, the story follows the commercial fishing boat Wind Blown as it leaves Montauk Harbor in March of 1984 for a routine offshore voyage. The passengers on the boat include its captain, a married father of three young boys, two locals, and the blue-blooded son of a well-to-do family. After a week at sea, the weather suddenly turned, and the foursome collided with a nor’easter. Although the crew put up a fight, their lives were tragically lost — neither the boat nor the bodies of the men were ever recovered.
In this “riveting man-vs.-nature story and compelling tribute to those who perished” (Kirkus Reviews, starred review), journalist Amanda M. Fairbanks seeks out the reasons why an event more than three decades old remains so startlingly vivid in people’s minds. She explores the ways in which deep, lasting grief can alter people’s memories. And she shines a light on the powerful and sometimes painful dynamics between fathers and sons, as well as the secrets that can haunt families from beyond the grave. During her Knowledge Friday, Amanda will speak on her book and discuss how the second-worst nautical disaster suffered by a Montauk-based fishing vessel in over a hundred years has become interwoven with the local folklore of the East End’s year-round population. Morgan McGivern, a local photographer who took upwards of a dozen photographs that appear in Amanda’s book, will present a slide show of the images during her talk.
Tickets: $15
