How Far the Light Reaches: A Life in Ten Sea Creatures
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- Type：Epub+TxT+PDF+Mobi
- Create Date：2022-12-08 03:19:51
- Update Date：2025-09-07
- Status：finish
- Author：Sabrina Imbler
- ISBN：B09X5D2XMT
- Environment：PC/Android/iPhone/iPad/Kindle
Reviews
The Atlantic
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Read an excerpt from Sabrina Imbler's new book: https://www。theatlantic。com/science/a。。。 Read an excerpt from Sabrina Imbler's new book: https://www。theatlantic。com/science/a。。。 。。。more
Samantha
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How Far the Light Reaches is a blend of science fiction and memoir by Sabrina Imbler。 There are ten short essays that connect marine life to Imbler's own life experiences as a queer， mixed-race journalist。 Thank you to NetGalley and Little， Brown and Company for an eARC in exchange for an honest review。This collection is for anyone interested in science， memoirs， and both， of course。 But more than that， I feel that this collection could be a powerfully relatable read to many readers out there。 W How Far the Light Reaches is a blend of science fiction and memoir by Sabrina Imbler。 There are ten short essays that connect marine life to Imbler's own life experiences as a queer， mixed-race journalist。 Thank you to NetGalley and Little， Brown and Company for an eARC in exchange for an honest review。This collection is for anyone interested in science， memoirs， and both， of course。 But more than that， I feel that this collection could be a powerfully relatable read to many readers out there。 While I do not share much in common with the author， I can see how their experiences could help other readers feel seen and known through shared experiences。Like with every collection， there are essays I felt were stronger than others。 I think my favorites were My Grandmother and the Sturgeon （very emotional， clear connection， conservation is touched upon） and Morphing Like a Cuttlefish （this one was the most eye-opening for me， and I felt I could really learn something from it）。If You Flush a Goldfish: I feel the connection between the science-related parts and the real-life application wasn't very strong in this one， but I took it as relating goldfish taking over any biome they're thrown into to people prospering when they are allowed to branch out。My Mother and the Starving Octopus: This was a contender for my top favorites due to its emotional nature。 Imbler delivers incredibly sad topics in a matter-of-fact way that somehow makes them more impactful。 It speaks on eating disorders， how body dysmorphia can be passed from parent to child， and struggles with one's identity。 My Grandmother and the Sturgeon: This one was one of the hardest to read as it touches on very serious topics both from Imbler's grandmother's history as well as the history and future of sturgeons。 How to Draw a Sperm Whale: I learned quite a bit from this one， and it also packed lots of emotion。 Imbler uses necropsy reports as a way to detail past relationships。 I feel like this one was super personal and I commend anyone who is able to write personal things such as this out for the world to read。Pure Life: This one discusses hydrothermal vents and yeti crabs in particular， a deep sea creature that has adapted to the pressures of living so far below。 Imbler relates these topics to the queer experience after the 2016 election and finding safe spaces。Beware the Sand Striker: I think this is the one I can relate to the most， and I love the thoughts Imbler added to the end of this essay （about how they wish more men would help protect women in vulnerable positions rather than seeing them as an opportunity）。 They connect the steps certain prey take to avoid sand strikers to the experiences females have of growing up being told how to protect themselves from predatory men。 Again， somehow Imbler talks about extremely hard topics in a matter-of-fact way but still makes them impactful。 Hybrids: The connection between the hybrid butterflyfish and their experience as a half Asian half White person was very clear。 As someone who doesn't share this experience， it was interesting in an eye-opening way to hear about someone's own relationship with their identity。We Swarm: This essay connects salp （small， jelly-like creatures） swarms to LGBTQ+ parades and the community。 At one point， Imbler mentions that major for-profit companies only care about the LGBTQ+ cause when they have room to profit， and while I never made that connection before it makes sense now。Morphing Like a Cuttlefish: The author is incredibly open in this one， but I think it was for the right reasons。 Gender fluidity， I feel， isn't talked about in super open/public spaces much， so a lot of people （like myself） have little to no understanding。 I think this essay offered the most to learn in an encompassing way （about cuttlefish， about the author， and about gender fluidity）。 While one person's experience isn't everyone's， I think hearing people's perspectives is the first way to gain knowledge。 Us Everlasting: I think it was smart and powerful to have this for the final essay and to include other queer STEM people's perspectives as well。 Immortal jellyfish are the topic for discussion on the science end， and I think the information we get on them is one of the more interesting of the marine life。Overall， this is an exceptionally put-together collection of essays and I am SO GLAD I found it。 。。。more
Foggygirl
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Great read。 Although I found the natural history elements of the book a bit more interesting than the autobiographical sections。
Keri
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I received a copy of this book via Goodreads Giveaways。This is a unique take on a memoir， Imbler comparing ten sea creatures to their personal life was a fresh take on the genre。 At times the science writing didn't segue well into the personal writing but both sections of each chapter were interesting enough on their own。 I also like that Imbler chose not so well known sea creatures。 I enjoyed reading this and would recommend it。 I'm not sure that it has a clearly defined target audience but it I received a copy of this book via Goodreads Giveaways。This is a unique take on a memoir， Imbler comparing ten sea creatures to their personal life was a fresh take on the genre。 At times the science writing didn't segue well into the personal writing but both sections of each chapter were interesting enough on their own。 I also like that Imbler chose not so well known sea creatures。 I enjoyed reading this and would recommend it。 I'm not sure that it has a clearly defined target audience but it would be enjoyed by all types。 。。。more
alej
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This didn't really feel my cup even though I really felt a connection to conversations about being biracial and queer and trans and the aspects of gender that were talked about。 I think part of it is that it made me feel very lonely， as if I had missed out on really important parts of being queer and by missing out on those parts I am less queer in that regard。 But that's just my position， and nothing that Imbler did by writing this。 The book is well written and I think for me， I didn't really n This didn't really feel my cup even though I really felt a connection to conversations about being biracial and queer and trans and the aspects of gender that were talked about。 I think part of it is that it made me feel very lonely， as if I had missed out on really important parts of being queer and by missing out on those parts I am less queer in that regard。 But that's just my position， and nothing that Imbler did by writing this。 The book is well written and I think for me， I didn't really need the connection to see creatures in order to feel the vastness of the concerns that were brought up。 I think at this time I needed something else。 But four stars， nonetheless。 。。。more
Jenny Lawson
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A creatively written memoir/collection of essays that blends the authors unique experiences of ethnicity， gender， and sexuality with fascinating tales of deep sea creatures。
Nancy
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Miraculous and alien creatures live in the sea。 Jellyfish which don’t die but clone themselves。 Mother octopus who protect their egg cases unto death。 Giant worms that hide in the sand until they spring up to grasp their prey。 A hybrid fish。Sabrina Imbler was fascinated by these creatures， and her descriptions of their lives is beautiful。 Imbler saw deep lessons in these sea creatures that shed light on their own experience。Imbler’s debut book is a hybrid， part memoir as a queer person and part Miraculous and alien creatures live in the sea。 Jellyfish which don’t die but clone themselves。 Mother octopus who protect their egg cases unto death。 Giant worms that hide in the sand until they spring up to grasp their prey。 A hybrid fish。Sabrina Imbler was fascinated by these creatures， and her descriptions of their lives is beautiful。 Imbler saw deep lessons in these sea creatures that shed light on their own experience。Imbler’s debut book is a hybrid， part memoir as a queer person and part nature writing。 I marveled at the creatures they so eloquently describes。 And was impressed by the original approach of using them as a way to plumb their personal journey。 They are frank， confessional about their experience， the confusion and social pressure， the failed love affairs， finally becoming who they were meant to be。 It’s an emotional read。Imber is a writer to watch。I received an ARC from the publisher through Goodrads。 My review is fair and unbiased。 。。。more
Alice Tremblay
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*Libro。fm ALC*What a unique way to write a memoir！ Super well done and touching in every way。 Definitely recommend！！ 🦀🐋🦑
Rose
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**Disclaimer** I won this book from a Goodreads giveaway。 I wasn't required to write this review， it just seemed polite to do so after getting a free book。How Far the Light Reaches: A Life in Ten Sea Creatures by Sabrina Imbler is a fascinating essay collection that draws connections between the author's life and a myriad of sea creatures。 I liked the book， but I'm torn on how to review this collection of essays。 The sea life writing and the memoir parts of the books are engaging separately， it **Disclaimer** I won this book from a Goodreads giveaway。 I wasn't required to write this review， it just seemed polite to do so after getting a free book。How Far the Light Reaches: A Life in Ten Sea Creatures by Sabrina Imbler is a fascinating essay collection that draws connections between the author's life and a myriad of sea creatures。 I liked the book， but I'm torn on how to review this collection of essays。 The sea life writing and the memoir parts of the books are engaging separately， its where the pieces connect that has me split。 The back and forth between the two in some of the essays is stunning and in others it just didn't work for me at all。 A small few land in between when the comparisons made me think but the actual transitions felt rough。 I enjoyed what I was reading it just felt slightly raw in weird places。Would I recommend it？ Yes。 Would I call it perfect？ No， but it shows some amazing potential and I look forward to see what Imbler writes next。 。。。more
Ron Frampton
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A book about stories of ten sea creatures。
Shari
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Very good book！ Love how the author compares aspects of their life with various sea creatures。 Such a unique and interesting way to tell their story。 Absolutely recommend！
Gabby Leporati
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For every queer kid who dreamed of becoming a marine biologist…this is the book for you（Read this awhile ago but forgot to update）
Charlie
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An excellent collection by one of the most exciting and innovative essayists working today。 Imbler’s full-length debut is as much about their personal queer and trans evolution as it is an exploration of the deep sea creatures whose abilities and eccentricities throw a wrench in popular ideas of human exceptionalism。 Sometimes the gayest people are arthropods you know？ How far does the light reach？ Imbler’s light shines forcefully and gracefully， swerving and blooming in a way entirely its own。
Kathleen
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The subtitle "A Life in Ten Sea Creatures" indicates the content。 Ten essays loosely link intriguing descriptions of sea creatures to family history/memoir。 It mostly works。 The subtitle "A Life in Ten Sea Creatures" indicates the content。 Ten essays loosely link intriguing descriptions of sea creatures to family history/memoir。 It mostly works。 。。。more
Jamie Holloway
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I love how the author here uses sea creatures to illustrate her life in these essays。 I love the ocean and sea creatures。 and I can tell that the author loves it too。 This book is deep， no pun intended， but it is deep and makes you think about things in a new way。 I appreciate this a lot。
Alex Laughlin
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Resplendent gorgeous revelatory。 I had to put it down for a few weeks because it was so good it hurt。 I feel different for having read it， and WOW I care so much more about all these sea creatures！！
Becky
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An incredibly moving collection of essays that intertwines the author’s personal life story with that of various sea creatures。 Each essay introduces us to a different time in their life， and a different creature， and what struck me the most from these was a shared striving to be able to thrive in both their given elements。 At times they are stories of cruelty， from the world， or others， and the ways they must adapt to survive it， while also staying true to themselves。 There is much to be learne An incredibly moving collection of essays that intertwines the author’s personal life story with that of various sea creatures。 Each essay introduces us to a different time in their life， and a different creature， and what struck me the most from these was a shared striving to be able to thrive in both their given elements。 At times they are stories of cruelty， from the world， or others， and the ways they must adapt to survive it， while also staying true to themselves。 There is much to be learned from this book， and I highly recommend it。 。。。more
Audrey
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Sabrina Imbler， a science journalist who is bi racial and queer， writes a beautiful combo nature book and memoir。 Her perspective unfolds with her work discussing ten different creatures from the sea， while illustrating her personal life and identity both in queerness and race。 Some of these sea creatures were fascinating， including a sea worm named after Bobbitt as well as the always fascinating octopus。 Readers of Aimee Nezhukumatathil， Robin Wall Kimmerer， Sy Montgomery and Ed Yong will want Sabrina Imbler， a science journalist who is bi racial and queer， writes a beautiful combo nature book and memoir。 Her perspective unfolds with her work discussing ten different creatures from the sea， while illustrating her personal life and identity both in queerness and race。 Some of these sea creatures were fascinating， including a sea worm named after Bobbitt as well as the always fascinating octopus。 Readers of Aimee Nezhukumatathil， Robin Wall Kimmerer， Sy Montgomery and Ed Yong will want to dive right into this book。I received an arc from the publisher but all opinions are my own。 。。。more
Andrew
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Imbler brilliantly draws parallels between the fascinating underwater world and their own life and how these life forms relate to their racial and sexual identity， along with humankind's own social and survival instincts as a whole。 These narratives are perfectly interwoven with the ten life forms Imbler has chosen to highlight-- and I'm sure there's far more。 This is not the first time I have read about deep-sea life being comparable to LGBT living-- camouflage， changing sex， and multiple regen Imbler brilliantly draws parallels between the fascinating underwater world and their own life and how these life forms relate to their racial and sexual identity， along with humankind's own social and survival instincts as a whole。 These narratives are perfectly interwoven with the ten life forms Imbler has chosen to highlight-- and I'm sure there's far more。 This is not the first time I have read about deep-sea life being comparable to LGBT living-- camouflage， changing sex， and multiple regenerations， to name a few examples-- nor will it be the last; Imbler's insights and comparisons in How Far the Light Reaches are ingeniously paired， sure to nestle in the hearts of readers like a cuttlefish to sand。 。。。more
Conner Horak-Flood
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For fans of WHY FISH DON'T EXIST and BRAIDING SWEETGRASS comes a debut essay collection that takes the reader to the deepest depths of the ocean and on a coming of age story of race and queerness。 The essays illustrate how our fellow marine earthlings provide insight to our own societal and personal journeys。 The author， Sabrina Imbler reflects on their life as a mixed race and queer person and how they found identity and solace in the most obscure ocean creatures in the hardest to reach places For fans of WHY FISH DON'T EXIST and BRAIDING SWEETGRASS comes a debut essay collection that takes the reader to the deepest depths of the ocean and on a coming of age story of race and queerness。 The essays illustrate how our fellow marine earthlings provide insight to our own societal and personal journeys。 The author， Sabrina Imbler reflects on their life as a mixed race and queer person and how they found identity and solace in the most obscure ocean creatures in the hardest to reach places and I was moved to tears with every piece。 Imbler's tender approach and tactile prose that toggles between expansive aquatic research and personal experiences expands the portrait of our world as we know it and provides hope， an ember of light in the expansive darkness miles below the surface and in the precarious future that we face。 。。。more
Venneh
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I'd heard some buzz around this and saw it was up for request on NetGalley， so I decided to request this on a whim。 As it turns out， this was a fantastic whim， and one of my favorite non fiction reads so far this year。 Imbler juxtaposes some interesting deep dives on some weird sea creatures from the deeps against their own queer and cultural awakenings in each essay。 They also manage to transition easily between the more scientific writing and their own personal writing。 I also know a bunch of I'd heard some buzz around this and saw it was up for request on NetGalley， so I decided to request this on a whim。 As it turns out， this was a fantastic whim， and one of my favorite non fiction reads so far this year。 Imbler juxtaposes some interesting deep dives on some weird sea creatures from the deeps against their own queer and cultural awakenings in each essay。 They also manage to transition easily between the more scientific writing and their own personal writing。 I also know a bunch of queer folks， myself included， who relate deeply to sea animals， so it's great to be able to learn more about them， and also see the parallels in how Imbler relates。 This is Imbler's first collection， and I'm definitely interested in reading more of them。 Pick this up when this comes out this fall。 。。。more
Krista
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This collection blew me away。 The brutal and beautiful realities of life in the ocean are juxtaposed with the author’s own experiences。 From cuttlefish to sperm whales， from eating disorders to transmasc awakenings， each essay thematically links oceanic vitality to the glories and horrors of being visibly enfleshed。 I was struck over and over again by the author’s thoughtful resiliency。 These essays will stick with me。NetGalley provided me with an ARC in exchange for an honest review。
alyssa
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i loved this so much。 sea creatures and queerness and being a person！！ i loved it。
Sab
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3。5 starsthank you to netgalley for the ARC！I like science nonfiction and I've been trying to break into memoirs， so this seemed like a great option for me。 Overall， I enjoyed it， although I was left wishing I felt deeper or more strongly about it。 Some of the essays did hit like that， leaving me thinking about them long after。 I think the essays and the writing style got stronger mostly as they went， which makes sense from a layout perspective。 My biggest complaint would probably be that many t 3。5 starsthank you to netgalley for the ARC！I like science nonfiction and I've been trying to break into memoirs， so this seemed like a great option for me。 Overall， I enjoyed it， although I was left wishing I felt deeper or more strongly about it。 Some of the essays did hit like that， leaving me thinking about them long after。 I think the essays and the writing style got stronger mostly as they went， which makes sense from a layout perspective。 My biggest complaint would probably be that many times the stories about sea life and the stories about the author's life were just stacked together and there wasn't any kind of segue or written connection between them， which is certainly a stylistic choice， but I think made the connections less powerful than they could have been。 individual essay thoughts: if you flush a goldfish: would’ve liked some deeper application of the metaphor to real life， but it leaves you with interesting thoughtsmy mother and the starving octopus: a lot of facts about sea creatures presented in paragraphs that break up the personal story， once again lacking connective tissuemy grandmother and the sturgeon: definitely the best chapter so far。 the science and the personal anecdotes are still disjointed， but not nearly as much as in the first two chapters。 the overall feeling of this book so far though is something like mourning， which makes it hard to read sometimeshow to draw a sperm whale: the new best so far。 The emotional punch that’s been missing was abundant here， particularly in the necropsy of a relationship sections。 The connection between the science and the real life anecdotes still wasn’t great， but the best it’s been so far。 The prose was sometimes kind of grotesque and hard to read in a clinically gory kind of waypure life: this chapter read quick and didn’t feel very deep or memorable to me。 I did really like the parallel of finding safe spaces as queer and/or POC with living I’m near hydrothermal vents， and it was interesting to read about the discovery of hydrothermal vents， which is a lot more recent than I’d thought it wasbeware the sand striker: the content of this was predictable within the first page or two， and I can’t say I really enjoyed it。 This is always a hard topic to read about and I felt it was kept very surface level， which did make it easier to read but also made it less impactful I thinkhybrids: a lot more personal story and less science in this one。 the bits with john randall felt out of place。 I liked the analogy with the butterflyfish although I don’t feel like the authors voice was as clear here as it has been in other essayswe swarm: by far my favorite essay so far。 the salp metaphor fits so so well， and the language here is so rich as to be feel like you’re there。 there’s a kind of hope-adjacent feeling in this part and I really enjoyed the sense of community imbued in itmorphing like a cuttlefish: not quite back to the harsh lines between science story and personal anecdote but also not as linked as it maybe could have been， through better than most of the beginning ones。 learned some cool new things about cuttlefish and learned some very personal things about the author that I’m kind of hmm about。 do like the talk about how identity is fluidus everlasting: most similar to we swarm and as such one I enjoyed more than others。 the analogy was very strong here and I liked the paragraphs from other contributors to provide some other POVs besides the author 。。。more
Kaitlin
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How Far the Light ReachesA truly moving hybrid book that blends a memoir with a nature guide to sea creatures。 The author writes beautifully and I enjoyed how they spliced in interesting facts about marine life with a discussion on the author’s race， gender identity and sexuality。 I enjoyed learning all about the various sea creatures。 The author had a truly impressive way of proving interesting information about these animals with a deeply personal story about their own life。 The author had a w How Far the Light ReachesA truly moving hybrid book that blends a memoir with a nature guide to sea creatures。 The author writes beautifully and I enjoyed how they spliced in interesting facts about marine life with a discussion on the author’s race， gender identity and sexuality。 I enjoyed learning all about the various sea creatures。 The author had a truly impressive way of proving interesting information about these animals with a deeply personal story about their own life。 The author had a way of making even the humble goldfish absolutely fascinating。 （For example， a goldfish’s memory lasts several months and they are so smart they can navigate mazes！） The information the author provided about the various marine critters was fascinating， but the stories yeh author told about their identity had my heart。 I highly recommend this book interested in nature or in the LGBTQIA community。 。。。more
Meow558
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