Row for Freedom

An activists and athlete recounts her inspiring, record-breaking row across the Atlantic to raise awareness in the fight against modern slavery.

The Talisker Whiskey Atlantic Challenge is known as The World’s Toughest Row. Very few have completed the three-thousand-mile race from the Canary Islands to Barbados—fewer than those who have climbed Mount Everest or gone into space. But thirty-two-year-old Julia Immonen and four or the women were determined to not only complete the challenge, but to become the fastest all-female team to ever do so.

Row for Freedom chronicles that dramatic journey, detailing the grueling, peril-filled crossing that broke two world records. It weaves together Julia’s search for hope and purpose against a background of relationships scarred by violence. As Julia’s physical and emotional treks unfold, you also learn about the plight of the thirty million victims of the modern-day slave trade that serves as the motivation for her row.