Lifesaving Lessons
  • Published: 25 March 2014
  • ISBN: 9780143125129
  • Imprint: Penguin
  • Format: Paperback
  • Pages: 272
  • RRP: $55.00

Lifesaving Lessons

Notes from an Accidental Mother

  • Linda Greenlaw
Formats & editions
EBook
21 Mar 2013
Paperback
25 Mar 2014
Buy from…
The Nile Mighty Ape BookHub Whitcoulls The Warehouse Paper Plus Fishpond Book Hero Unity Books University Book Shop Find Local Retailers


New York Times bestselling author Linda Greenlaw tells the story of her greatest battle with Nature yet: this time, it's not the ocean with which she must struggle...but with her newly adopted teenaged daughter

New York Times–bestselling author Linda Greenlaw tells of her greatest challenge: adopting a teenage daughter

The only female swordfish boat captain in the country and a survivor of the real Perfect Storm, Linda Greenlaw was not a woman to shy away from a challenge. Then came fifteen-year-old Mariah—the greatest force of nature Greenlaw has ever encountered. In this chronicle of becoming a mother to a troubled teenage girl, Greenlaw’s fans will be delighted by her trademark candor and down-to-earth style of storytelling, and will see a side of her that’s never been revealed before. New readers, and any parent of a teenage daughter, will find much to empathize with in this brave and heartfelt new memoir.
  • Published: 25 March 2014
  • ISBN: 9780143125129
  • Imprint: Penguin
  • Format: Paperback
  • Pages: 272
  • RRP: $55.00
Categories:

Praise for Lifesaving Lessons

"Greenlaw's memoir deftly chronicles her journey to motherhood, without white-washing away the toughness of the trek or the joy she experiences along the way."--Publishers Weekly

"America's only female swordfish-boat captain returns with a straightforward account of the challenges she faced in becoming the legal guardian of a sexually abused teenager and in balancing unexpected motherhood with her reclusive lifestyle on a tiny island off the coast of Maine... Greenlaw is at her finest when drawing parallels between life at sea and her new role as a mother...[Lifesaving Lessons] will appeal most to fans of Greenlaw's previous Isle au Haut installment, The Lobster Chronicles."--Kirkus

"Greenlaw (Seaworthy, 2010) veers from her more traditional fishing tales in this intimate memoir that proves without a doubt that it takes a village to raise a child... With newfound poignancy, Greenlaw addresses family and kinship in a clear-eyed manner that defies expectations and should easily bring her new fans. Book clubs will want to take note."--Booklist

"[The] never-married Greenlaw met her match when she took on guardianship of a troubled teenage girl. Here, she chronicles their relationship with candor, wit, and rugged tenderness."
--Reader's Digest

"Her latest memoir indicates that tide, seasons and the goings-on of Isle au Haut, Maine, still dominate Linda Greenlaw's life... but it is her latest endeavor that nearly grounds her and others on the close-knit island. Greenlaw contends with and eventually comforts a troubled 15-year-old... Relying on her family, the island community, the indomitable but fragile spirit of her new charge and gut instinct leads them to a safe place."--Florida Times-Union

"The author also uses her sharp memoir skills to balance the story's drama. She can shift from describing the isolation and beauty while cross-country skiing around the island in winter to the hassles of getting a herring-seining business going with two friends as everything goes wrong with lousy gear. Many words could describe Lifesaving Lessons: courageous (for both Greenlaw and her daughter), shocking, heartfelt, horrific, poignant and candid...It's ultimately a story of healing and transformation, and, to Greenlaw's credit, one without a trace of sappiness."
--Working Waterfront Newspaper

"Linda writes with pathos and humor about the tenuous relationship that develops as the horrific truth about the girl's uncle comes to light."--Book Report Network