***AMAZON BEST BOOK OF DECEMBER***
***A TIME MUST-READ BOOK OF THE YEAR***
***LA TIMES BOOK PRIZE WINNER***
A young queer science writer on some of the ocean's strangest creatures and what they can teach us about human empathy and survival
'A miraculous, transcendental book' ED YONG
'An astonishing debut' GUARDIAN
As a mixed Chinese and white non-binary writer working in a largely white, male field, science 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's debut weaves the wonders of marine biology with stories of their own family and coming of age, implicitly connecting endangered sea life to marginalised human communities and asking how they and we adapt, survive and care for each other.
This far-reaching, unique collection shatters our preconceptions about the sea and what it means to survive.
'Astounding' PHILIP HOARE
'A revelation' ISABELLA TREE
