The Heart of the Sound: An Alaskan Paradise Found and Nearly Lost (Signed!) [B0599]

2004 signed HCDJ in excellent condition. On the 15th anniversary of the Exxon Valdez oil spill comes one woman's reflections on that devastation and the parallel disintegration of her own marriage. A beautiful evocation of both grief and hope.

How does one recover from disaster? That question is at the heart of Marybeth Holleman's lyrical, elegiac response to the repercussions of the Exxon Valdez oil spill that devastated Alaska's Prince William Sound in 1989. Twining together the destruction of an ecosystem and the disintegration of her marriage, Holleman explores the resiliency of nature-both wild and human-and the ways in which that resiliency is tested. Like the oil that remains pooled beneath rocks years after the tanker spill, the emotional wounds of the past lie just below the surface. Recovery and restoration from the pain wrought by human hands does not come easily.

If much of nature writing is about the heart's search for an unspoiled, perfect landscape, The Heart of the Sound is about what happens when the return-to-paradise fantasy is over and paradise is lost. In language rich with passion and hard-won insight, Holleman creates a captivating picture of a woman who found her Eden in the sweeping fjords of Alaska only to lose it to ecological tragedy. But somewhere within that loss, she finds herself.

From Amazon/GoodReads reviews: "Really lovely nature/personal essays; I particularly enjoyed the vivid descriptions of places in Prince William Sound so loved by the author - the beauty of them & the despair felt around the Exxon Valdez oil spill. I learned a ton about the spill I didn't know and really enjoyed this perspective - although I think by far my favorite part of the book is the story of one person's close relationship with place and how relationship to land/place is powerful enough to change our lives & loves on a deep level."; "Concern born of love. One of the things I most admire about Marybeth Holleman is something she told me in person: "I moved to Alaska because of Prince William Sound." This statement is verified in her writing, which is replete with examples of her love and devotion to the place. Crucial questions are presented in the last third of the book. In the aftermath of the Exxon Valdez oil spill Holleman casts a critical eye on restoration money designated for scientific study. Finally, the book takes on a larger scope, asking that we take a hard look at our adaptability to environmental degradation. Things that bother her should trouble us all: noise pollution, species' extinction, global warming, acid rain. How is it that we have come to accept these phenomena as "natural" by-products of economic growth? Thanks to Holleman and other nature writers these issues will continue to surface in discussions across the nation. And, if we are lucky, those in power will begin to listen."