How Far the Light Reaches

A Life in Ten Sea Creatures

By: Sabrina Imbler

Narrated by: Sabrina Imbler

Length: 5 hrs and 41 mins

Publisher's summary

"A miraculous, transcendental book. Sabrina Imbler is a generational talent, and this book is a gift to us all."—ED YONG, New York Times Bestselling author of I Contain Multitudes

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.

©2022 Sabrina Imbler (P)2022 Little, Brown & Company

Critic reviews

“This is a miraculous, transcendental book. Across these essays, Imbler has choreographed a dance of metaphor between the wonders of the ocean’s creatures and the poignancy of human experience, each enriching the other in surprising and profound ways. To write with such grace, skill, and wisdom would be impressive enough; to have done so in their first major work is truly breathtaking. Sabrina Imbler is a generational talent, and this book is a gift to us all.”—ED YONG, New York Times Bestselling author of I Contain Multitudes

“How Far the Light Reaches marks the arrival of a phenomenal writer creating an intellectual channel entirely their own, within which whales and feral goldfish swim by the enchantment, ache, and ecstasy of human life.”—MEGHA MAJUMDAR, New York Times bestselling author of A Burning

Beautiful book

What a beautiful collection of essays! The author drew such fascinating parallels between their life and that of some fascinating sea creatures.

The writing is luminous.

Engaging, relatable and dare I say, cathartic?

Definitely lost sleep while listening, not because it was disturbing, but because I didn’t want to miss a moment, nor was I patient enough to wait to continue my listening.

Awesome and unexpected

This is a Great read this is ethically, socially and scientifically thought provoking. Worth reading all of it.

Fabulous writing and great reading by the author

Great science writing combined with exquisitely smart and insightful writing. This queer writer talks about her life, alternating with excellent science writing, with each sea creature being fascinating on its own while serving as a metaphor for what the author goes through in various stages of her life.The author's voice adds warmth and humor to her written words. I loved it.

Thoughtful and Creative Memoir

This is a gorgeous, insightful book. I'm so frustrated by the reviews criticizing it for not being more about animals. Imbler does offer very interesting description about unique and often misunderstood sea creatures, but they do so much more here. Each personal essay offers creative parallels between raw, engaging relatable anecdotes and a unique animal's behavior. It is heart-breaking, thought-provoking, inspiring. I loved it. I do not know why it is on sale because Imbler, who is an incredible writer, is winning all sorts of awards for it.

Loved it

The existential comparison between a queer person’s evolution and super special sea creatures. Absolutely gorgeous. Iridescent in my minds eye.

So much more than sea creatures

Deeply personal and emotional. A book suggested to me for my love of nonfiction/science. A leave it with a really empathetic view of trans issues as well as some new perspectives and new facts on interesting sea creatures. I recommend this too everyone. It’s fantastic.

Meh

I enjoyed the biology in this book. I was less interested in the personal retrospectives.

A book I enjoyed and surprised by

This story has my first love of the ocean, all of the ocean secrecy. I usually respectfully keep my nose out of other people’s love lives, and I am not a reader of romance novels. I kept reading/listening out of respect. Respect for both the ocean and humanity. Mahalo for sharing your stories. And please keep writing of my/ our oceans.

Completely Original

This is such a unique way to relate a biography of ones life, I've never read anything like it before. I also really enjoyed the scientific insights to fish, despite coming into thinking I'd find it boring. Lovely reading as well, one of the best audio performances I've listened to on here.