How Far the Light Reaches: A Life in Ten Sea Creatures by Sabrina Imbler
Review by Amanda Wiley, Division Manager, Community Library
I’ve always been fascinated by the ocean, especially those deep dark places where the strangest of creatures live.
Sabrina Imbler’s ‘How Far the Light Reaches’ provides an in-depth glimpse into aspects of sea life in parallel with their experiences as a queer, mixed-race conservation journalist. In doing so, each essay brilliantly weaves together stories of marine biology with their own life, highlighting themes of adaptation, coming of age, survival, and sexuality. 
One of my favourites, ‘My Mother and the Starving Octopus’ parallels the life of a brooding octopus with Imbler’s mother’s struggle with body image.
An especially moving piece entitled ‘Pure Life’, explores the connection between creatures who live near hydrothermal vents at the ocean’s deepest points, linked to finding joy at a monthly dance party for queer people of colour.
Imbler crafts sentences with impeccable skill, illuminating unknown ocean depths, while exploring the what-ifs and the beauty of human life.