Into the Planet

My Life as a Cave Diver

By: Jill Heinerth

Narrated by: Jill Heinerth

Length: 10 hrs and 16 mins

Publisher's summary

From one of the world’s most renowned cave divers, a firsthand account of exploring the Earth’s final frontier: the hidden depths of our oceans and the sunken caves inside our planet.

More people have died exploring underwater caves than climbing Mount Everest, and we know more about deep space than we do about the depths of our oceans. From one of the top cave divers working today - and one of the very few women in her field - Into the Planet blends science, adventure, and memoir to bring listeners face-to-face with the terror and beauty of Earth’s remaining unknowns and the extremes of human capability.

Jill Heinerth - the first person in history to dive deep into an Antarctic iceberg and leader of a team that discovered the ancient watery remains of Mayan civilizations - has descended farther into the inner depths of our planet than any other woman. She takes us into the harrowing split-second decisions that determine whether a diver makes it back to safety, the prejudices that prevent women from pursuing careers underwater, and her endeavor to recover a fallen friend’s body from the confines of a cave. But there’s beauty beyond the danger of diving, and while Heinerth swims beneath our feet in the lifeblood of our planet, she works with biologists discovering new species, physicists tracking climate change, and hydrogeologists examining our finite freshwater reserves.

Written with hair-raising intensity, Into the Planet is the first book to deliver an intimate account of cave diving, transporting listeners deep into inner space, where fear must be reconciled and a mission’s success balances between knowing one’s limits and pushing the envelope of human endurance.

©2019 Jill Heinerth (P)2019 HarperCollins Publishers

The Story of the World's Premier Woman Cave Diver

I found this audiobook interesting. The first third of the book seemed mundane, whereas the latter part held me glued to the story. I am not a cave diver, but I see Ms. Heinerth's name in dive magazines and other scuba diving media. Heinerth has many talents that propel her into the realm of scuba diving enthusiasts' minds. She is smart; she has unusual powers of observation; she is a businesswoman, a writer, a photographer, a videographer, extreme, deep cave diver; she is always fighting against the opposition of forces that are envious of her, people who put her down because she is on top of her game and because she is a woman in a seemingly all-male risky, death-defying sport. She uses the latest, most sophisticated rebreather diving systems, systems that can kill a person over the slightest inattention to detail. She will verbally fight egotistic individuals who try to efface her greatest accomplishments. Heinerth is a kind of Ausnahmemensch; she is ahead of her peers and covers many spectrums. In addition to where she has come from, she has all of the toughness of a world-class explorer. She doesn't need a bottle of Canadian Black Seal to prove it.

Hardcore Adventure

Diving deep in underwater caves is one of the most dangerous things a human can do. Jill takes you deep into this netherworld. A world where you face your fears and there is no room for error. Jill is a rare breed of explorers who pushing the envelope of discovery.

Why whine? Why?

A long description of complaints in which the author airs dirty laundry regarding a first marriage with snippets of cave explorations tossed in. A real disappointment. If you’re the type of person who loves to sit on a couch and hear a one sided story all about how awful your friend’s spouse is, and if you love to hear somebody whine, then you’ll love this book. If you are looking for a tale of adventure then look elsewhere.

Excellent!

Well written book about a person taking a less traveled path in life through cave and technical diving explorations. This books exemplifies through the author's personal experiences that unique and notable rewards in life may not be achieved without taking some high but hopefully manageable risks. This book will most certainly be appreciated by anyone that participates in cave diving and any reader who enjoys nonfiction adventures. A great read especially if you ever wanted an answer as to why some individuals will risk everything to satisfy their urge to explore this amazing planet.

A personal story of perseverance & self-reflection

There Are too few words available to me to say how much I Love this....

amazing stories!

Her stories are fantastic! Gives you a real sense of what cave diving is like. I have been a scuba diver for many years and done some penetrations but no cave diving. After listening to her book, her stories will be the only cave diving experiences I will be having.

Fantastic and Descriptive Adventure

This story is incredible. The author really takes the times to describe her adventures. You can feel the intensity of the dives and her expeditions. I look forward to finding her video footage of these explorations to further immerse myself into the story. Highly recommend.

A Wild and Lovely Submersion

Jill Heinerth delivers what she has promised at the beginning of her story—a journey into the gorgeous depths of underwater caves which filled me with absolute wonder and respect for this brave and unconventional woman. This is an honest and beautiful narrative about Heinerth’s life so far. It’s an amazing dive and I felt myself gasping for air and hoping for her safety, survival and happiness. Well done!

Interesting autobiography

I enjoyed listening to the story of Jill's cave diving experiences as well as her personal life. It had an honest ring to it and of course she knows what she's talking about when it comes to diving.

True adventure

Love when the author has the “right stuff” to read their book to me! Jill is good at it, never monotonous, bringing her own zest to my ears.

A rescue diver myself, I resonated to her vivid portraits. I remember the fears but she communicated them far better than I thought possible.

I also appreciated her exposing the personal side. We are all humans, too often books skip the failures and relationship problems that are always there. Brave heart, friend of the planet, I hope to hear you speak in person someday.

Amazing story and great insight to a truly spectacular diver

The book was written so well I could have been inside the cave with you. Thankyou so much for sharing your life story

Excellent exploration of a life

Well balanced, packed with gripping stories and insights about a world I’ll never visit. Narration good too. Well worth a listen.

fascinating story about Fascinating womam

I haven't been able to stop listening to this audio book it is so gripping

Amazing insight into the world of cave diving and exploration

If you like to understand what it takes to explore the depths of the world, remote areas & caves, then this book is for you. If you like diving it’s even better.
Captivating book and I loved it

An amazing life, it may leave you breathless.

Jill tells her incredible life story with honesty and insight. She has pushed herself beyond what the rest of us would consider in our worst nightmares, into the dark, cold abyssal depths of the earth's unexplored recesses. There are many parallels here with space exploration but not many astronauts return time and time again, with so little backup. Jill ventures into melting icebergs, Mayan caves and photographs what she finds so the rest of us can share her insights. I would not wish to do what she has done but am so glad there is someone as remarkable as her to do it. If you found the Netflix Thai cave rescue inspiring then buy this, you will love it!

Awesome

Absolutely incredible. For anyone that's a diver, and anyone that isn't, pick up this book, you won't regret it.

good story, decent narration

Loved it. Jill narrated her own experience in a heartfelt way but often sounded more monotonous than a professional voice actor would have. I will likely listen to this again.

Read beautifully by the author

After hearing Jill speak at an event, decided to dig deeper. Glad I did! A mix of adventure and humanity. Jill is an inspiration. Work hard, be brave, and connect with people and purpose.

Jill is frank about her flaws and failings and always sees them as spaces to grow. She reminds those who see her as a success the sacrifices she made to do something new and difficult.

Incredible!

wonderfully narrated by a passionate and thoughtful explorer, this book will have you inspired to get out and dive!

A must listen for any scuba divers!

Inspiring, thrilling, thought provoking and heartwarming. Loved every second of this audiobook. If you’re thinking about purchasing don’t think any more, do it!