3 Piece Combo: Books On the Beach

A review of some favorite books

Jun 17, 2024

Main Course

Waters seem to find me even when I’m not looking for them.

There are the books that have “water” in the title somewhere, that I read for learning how waters work and how people (mis)treat them. These books are usually categorized as “Science & Engineering”, “Hydrology & Ecology,” or “International Affairs”.

Then there are the novels, memoirs, autobiographies, and history books that surprise me when they offer insight into the ways that people relate with water, personally and culturally, literally and metaphorically.

Here, through language, is where we honor the magic and mystery of the waters, because our regard for them goes beyond “resource management”.

Here, in Assata: An Autobiography by Assata Shakur, Homegoing by Yaa Gyasi, and On Earth We’re Briefly Gorgeous by Ocean Vuong, I noticed several ways that Oceans, our biggest bodies of water, are remembered as containers and guides for our deepest experiences: grief, joy, trauma, healing, longing, and communion.

Here are some of my initial reflections from each of the books.

By the way, I took all of these photos along the Berlin Wall. Top 5 moment in Germany.