Lifesaving Lessons: Notes from an Accidental Mother
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. Set on her beloved home of Isle au Haut, off the coast of Maine, Greenlaw’s chronicle is about discovering a child in trouble and doing the necessary but difficult work to save her. Writing in the same bracing manner as in her high-seas adventures, Greenlaw relates how a new island resident misrepresented himself and his “adopted” daughter and the chaos that ensued as the truth was slowly revealed. In the midst of her own low-key midlife crisis, and at odds about her romantic relationship and professional future, both on the sea and off, she considers herself an unlikely candidate for parental stand-in. But as the island does its own collective soul searching, she finds herself pondering a future she never envisioned. 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. --Colleen Mondor