The Life of a Maine Lobsterman by Andrew Gove

What is The Life of a Maine Lobsterman about?

In his memoir, Andrew Gove tells the stories of a disappearing Maine culture, including his life growing up on Eagle Island and the hard-work ethic he learned there. Andy was a legend up and down the Maine coast and was one of the hardest workers on the water in his lifetime, fishing for lobster, halibut and herring out of Stonington, Maine. He was always willing to lend a hand to those in distress, whether in his boat or his plane. He knew how to play hard too, participating in the Maine Lobsterboat Races for many years, winning many times. He spent 82 years of his life on the water.

What inspired you to publish this book?

Andy loved to tell his stories to anyone who would listen, including our publisher, who was a good friend of Andy’s. Nat would encourage Andy to write them down, as did other people over the years. Gradually, the impetus to publish his book became greater and greater. Andy really embraced that concept and we were delighted to work with him on both the stories and the multitude of photos that accompany them. Andy was still writing and passing stories to me as the editor when Covid arrived in our small community. While he didn’t contract Covid, the situation of shutdown really took a toll on Andy. He died at age 90 in June 2020. My one regret was that we didn’t have the printed book yet to hand to him—he was so looking forward to that.

What part of the publishing process did you find the most enjoyable with this book?

I’ve spent many years in this fishing town myself and editing the book was simply fun, even when Andy’s handwriting was hard to read. I didn’t always understand his descriptions, particularly of herring fishing, so consulting with him on getting the details right so all readers could understand was a riot—largely because Andy would segue off into yet another story during the process! As well, the book got good reviews from Kirkus and Midwest Book Review.

What is something you learned about reading Andrew Gove’s book?

In addition to those fishing details, I learned to appreciate an earlier life here and how hardscrabble it could be, earning a living from the sea. Andy was a loving and compassionate man, deeply committed to family, friends, work and animals—a wonderful model for living my own life.