Row of Life: The Tragedy and Triumph of Angela Madsen

Angela Madsen was a US Marine, a three-time Paralympian and the holder of 14 Guinness World Records - and she reached all of it after a botched operation left her paraplegic, and after periods of homelessness, debt and chronic pain. Rowing was the thing that gave her life back. By the time she approached 60, she had crossed oceans around the world and had one ambition left: to row one entirely alone.

In April 2020, Angela set off from Los Angeles for Hawaii in her boat, Row of Life, aiming to become the first paraplegic, and the oldest woman, to row the Pacific solo. She turned 60 at sea. She never reached Hawaii.

Hugh's guest is Soraya Simi, the filmmaker who told Angela's story. Barely out of film school, Soraya was asked by Angela to document the row, and spent a year working with her before the boat left LA - then followed the crossing from shore, in real time, message by message. Her debut feature, Row of Life, took six years to make and became a very different film from the one she set out to make. Soraya joins Hugh to talk about who Angela really was, the marriage to Deb at the heart of the story, the boat that drifted 4,000 miles and reappeared on a remote Pacific atoll, and what it means to keep going - the idea Angela lived by to the very end.

Soraya Simi's film Row of Life is available to rent or buy online. Search for it on Amazon, Apple or YouTube to find it in your territory.

YouTube UK: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CfW6paF7-Go

Apple UK: https://tv.apple.com/gb/movie/row-of-life/umc.cmc.4ot0ibynmm3qoclgv4hpvt3o

Prime UK: https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/video/detail/amzn1.dv.gti.e0e3bbe0-e0bf-42bb-b1fa-916def893012?autoplay=0&ref_=atv_cf_strg_wb

Angela told her own story in her memoir, Rowing Against the Wind.

This episode brings Series 2 to a close - thank you for listening.

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