Whisper Of The Ocean

Wise and inspiring quotations from the author's first three novels.

This book speaks to one of Canada’s greatest wrongs and its lasting impact on generations of people, related and otherwise. It is a story of how institutionalized bigotry has shaped Canada’s relationship with its First Nations Peoples. It exposes a dark, and until recently, hidden chapter in Canadian history, that of Indian Residential Schools; the effects of which the Canadian Government now acknowledges as being “profoundly negative.” This story follows the lives of four people and how they come to intertwine in Canada’s poorest neighborhood. Two residential school survivors, who in the aftermath of their incarceration are struggling to adapt to a society that demanded they change, yet shuns them anyway, and two paramedics who are also grappling with the demons of their pasts. Divided by class, race, and a uniform, they each have more in common than any of them suspect. Based on moving personal testimonies given to the author by residential school survivors living in Vancouver’s Downtown Eastside and the author’s career as a paramedic working in that neighborhood, this is a story of love and loss, and of longing and renewal, one that challenges us to see others, and ourselves, in a new light.

40 Inspirational stories, full color watercolors. A beautiful portrayal of experiencing nature, communing with God and searching for the answers to life's questions. In this timeless collection of stories, the reader will discover the significance of seeking solitude; the art of listening to the small, still voice within; the benefits of enjoying nature; the appreciation of simple peasures; the importance of being fully present in each moment and the healing effects of forgiveness. Emotional and thought provoking each story captures the mood of the ever-changing sea. The reader will be inspired to love and forgive, to discover their own strengths and determination, to let go of worry, and anger and to find faith and hope. Whispers of the sea speaks to the heart.

A New York Times Notable Book of the Year “Brilliantly breathes life not only into the perils of living at sea, but also into the hidden dangers of domesticity, parenthood, and marriage. What a smart, swift, and thrilling novel.” —Lauren Groff, author of Florida Juliet is failing to juggle motherhood and her stalled-out dissertation on confessional poetry when her husband, Michael, informs her that he wants to leave his job and buy a sailboat. With their two kids—Sybil, age seven, and George, age two—Juliet and Michael set off for Panama, where their forty-four foot sailboat awaits them. The initial result is transformative; the marriage is given a gust of energy, Juliet emerges from her depression, and the children quickly embrace the joys of being at sea. The vast horizons and isolated islands offer Juliet and Michael reprieve – until they are tested by the unforeseen. A transporting novel about marriage, family and love in a time of unprecedented turmoil, Sea Wife is unforgettable in its power and astonishingly perceptive in its portrayal of optimism, disillusionment, and survival.

Somehow the boat was still afloat - another wave had lifted it clear of the first rock and was driving it further inshore. It bumped against the base of Crab Rock and skewed around, then tipped momentarily to starboard . . . and as it did so, she saw a figure crouching in the bottom. Hetty's always been a bit of a loner, preferring to keep to the outer edges of the close-knit island community. But when a strange woman is washed up on the shore, Hetty finds herself under increasing scrutiny from the islanders. There's a connection between Hetty and the woman that makes people suspicious, so when death comes to the community the woman is branded a bad omen and Hetty has no choice but to take matters into her own hands. As she heads out to sea, a storm is breaking and the whispers that she's heard before are louder than ever. Voices from the very depths of the sea . . . and they're calling her name.

When Travis and Rebecca marry, rumors quickly spread that he has done so only for her dying father's ranch. Confused and convinced that Travis can never truly love her, Rebecca strikes out on her own. She disappears to make a new life for herself in a town far away, but her friends there are few, and life is hard. When desperate circumstances drive Rebecca home to Travis, she can see the change in the man she left behind. In her absence, he has grown from a rough-hewn cowboy to a confident rancher. Still, her wounded heart is hesitant. Is she more afraid to love—or to be loved?

"Exotic...erotic... Ocean Sea is highly romantic and breathtakingly lyrical."--The New York Times Book Review With Silk, his first novel to appear in English, Alessandro Baricco immediately proved himself to be a magical storyteller. With Ocean Sea, he has been acclaimed as the successor to Italo Calvino, and a major voice in modern literature. In Ocean Sea, Alessandro Baricco presents a hypnotizing postmodern fable of human malady--psychological, existential, erotic--and the sea as a means of deliverance. At the Almayer Inn, a remote shoreline hotel, an artist dips his brush in a cup of ocean water to paint a portrait of the sea. A scientist pens love letters to a woman he has yet to meet. An adulteress searches for relief from her proclivity to fall in love. And a sixteen-year-old girl seeks a cure from a mysterious condition which science has failed to remedy. When these people meet, their fates begin to interact as if by design. Enter a mighty tempest and a ghostly mariner with a thirst for vengeance, and the Inn becomes a place where destiny and desire battle for the upper hand. Playful, provocative, and ultimately profound, Ocean Sea is a novel of striking originality and wisdom.

Collection of poems about the sea, accompanied by watercolors by the artist Meilo So.

Can you imagine what your life would look like if you could... ...meet yourself with compassion, every single day? ...accept your body, maybe even grow to love it, exactly as it is? ...prioritize yourself and your needs, without feeling selfish? ...leverage the pain of your past into the power of your present? ...create lasting change in your patterns of behavior and in your life? ...soften into vulnerability, while confidently holding your boundaries? ...live a bold, authentic, and empowered life--in spite of your fear? You may not know it yet, but the real power of The Self-Worth Path is already within you. All you have to do is take the first step.

A “funny and supremely moving”novel about a seven-year-old navigating a world of turmoil by the author of What’s Eating Gilbert Grape (Harper’s Bazaar). Seven-year-old Scotty Ocean decides that seven is going to be “his year.” But soon after his birthday, his artist-turned-alcoholic mother abandons the family—leaving Scotty and his two older sisters alone with their father. As his perfect year falls apart, Scotty begins to act out during school and takes a series of increasingly wild actions to try to win his mother back—and, when that doesn’t work, to replace her. Funny and deeply affecting, An Ocean in Iowa traces Scotty’s desperate attempt to hold on to his childhood while the foundation of his family disintegrates. As Scotty’s year as a seven-year-old flies by—and the dreaded eight approaches—Peter Hedges explores how Scotty sheds his childhood in a one-eighty of the year he hoped would be so perfect. Beautifully written, and with careful attention to period detail, this compelling coming-of-age novel sets the private turmoil of a disintegrating family against the backdrop of the Vietnam War and the turbulent 1960s. “A delightful romp through the age of seven with an endearing character who revels in life’s smallest details.” —The Christian Science Monitor