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How Far the Light Reaches: A Life in Ten Sea Creatures

How Far the Light Reaches: A Life in Ten Sea Creatures

by Sabrina Imbler

Little, Brown and Company ·2022 ·263 pages ·Science
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80/99
Top of the Pile

82/99

Critics

Top of the Pile

77/99

Readers

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Scholars

86/99

Rating

77/99

Volume

61/99

Rating

93/99

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About This Book

A queer, mixed race writer working in a largely white, male field, science and conservation journalist Sabrina Imbler has always been drawn to the mystery of life in the sea, and particularly to creatures living in hostile or remote environments. Each essay in their debut collection profiles one such creature: the mother octopus who starves herself while watching over her eggs, the Chinese sturgeon whose migration route has been decimated by pollution and dams, the bizarre Bobbitt worm (named after Lorena), and other uncanny creatures lurking in the deep ocean, far below where the light reaches. Imbler discovers that some of the most radical models of family, community, and care can be found in the sea, from gelatinous chains that are both individual organisms and colonies of clones to deep-sea crabs that have no need for the sun, nourished instead by the chemicals and heat throbbing from the core of the Earth. Exploring themes of adaptation, survival, sexuality, and care, and weaving the wonders of marine biology with stories of their own family, relationships, and coming of age, How Far the Light Reaches is a book that invites us to envision wilder, grander, and more abundant possibilities for the way we live.


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Reviews

"Imbler cannily observes the lives of sea creatures, drawing out lessons about resilience, survival and wildness and tying those insights to their own experiences as a biracial, queer writer ..."

Henry L. Carrigan, Jr.· BookPage Read review ↗ Top of the Pile

"A poignant invitation into the depths of ocean life and a call to consider what nature can reveal about the human condition from a brilliant and poetic writer."

Kerry McHugh· Shelf Awareness Read review ↗ Top of the Pile

"This intimate deep dive will leave readers eager to see where Imbler goes next."

Publishers Weekly Read review ↗ Top of the Pile

"I am here to vouch that all the fuss was totally justified ..."

Norah Piehl· Bookreporter Read review ↗ Top of the Pile

"Braided through the fascinating account...is Imbler's own narrative ..."

Ilana Masad· The Washington Post Read review ↗ Top of the Pile

"In the process, the book punches holes in old tropes of wildlife documentaries ..."

Michael Scott Moore· Los Angeles Review of Books Read review ↗ Near the Top

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