About Jump Ship—Let Your Spirit Rip: A Story About the Lies I Lived, the Shame I Carried, and the Life I Crafted by Kevin DeRutyer
What if the life you’re chasing is the very thing taking you under?
Kevin DeRuyter grew up on a Wisconsin dairy farm, waking before dawn to shoulder chores that taught him discipline and endurance. He dreamed of a high-profile desk job, a life of order and success. On the surface, he built it: Green Bay Packers sidelines, college classrooms, even a career at sea. But beneath it all lived secrets, fear of failure, and the overwhelming sense that he was out of control in a story not meant for him.
The farm grind, the hollowness of college curriculum, the numbing pull of alcohol and emotional eating, and the surreal excess of yachting—even a jacuzzi drifting loose at sea—became the backdrop for collapse and the slow work of rebuilding. Along the way came mistakes, cover-ups, and the painful divide between who he appeared to be and who he was becoming.
In these pages you’ll discover:
– Why clinging to stability can keep you stuck in a sinking story
– How fear and performance mask the truth you already know
– What it takes to strip away false comforts and align spirit with soul
If you’ve ever smiled through discomfort, stayed too long, or wondered whether you’re just surviving and not truly living, this book will meet you where you are and push you toward change—even when fear and overwhelm tell you to stay put.
Jump Ship, Let Your Spirit Rip is a memoir about shame, survival, and the cost of chasing a dream that was never truly your own.
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Author Bio:
Kevin De Ruyter spent 15 years at sea, most of them as chief officer on some of the world’s most high-profile yachts, leading crew and navigating international waters. He later turned to real estate investing and a minimalistic lifestyle, exploring what it means to live simply and sustainably. Today he and his wife, Chelsea, split time between long stretches abroad and their 228-square-foot tiny home in Oregon, where he writes and shares hard-earned lessons on building a life by design.