Ocean Country is an adventure story, a call to action, and a poetic meditation on the state of the seas. But most importantly it is the story of finding true hope in the midst of one of the greatest crises to face humankind, the rapidly degrading state of our environment. After a near-drowning accident in which she was temporarily paralyzed, Liz Cunningham crisscrosses the globe in an effort to understand the threats to our dazzling but endangered oceans. This intimate account charts her thrilling journey through unexpected encounters with conservationists, fishermen, sea nomads, and scientists in the Mediterranean, Sulawesi, the Turks and Caicos Islands, and Papua, New Guinea. "A moving testament to the human spirit." — Kirkus Reviews "With genuine emotion and great pragmatism, Cunningham makes passionate pleas for the continued health of the planet." — Publishers Weekly "Cunningham's earnest narration of travels to remote seas around the world is a compelling read. Citing examples of sustainable fisheries and marine-protected areas around the word, the book ends on the hopeful note that we may have stopped hitting the snooze button when it comes to taking action against climate change." —Booklist " Ocean Country  is a great read—a moving memoir, a gripping adventure story and a work of committed advocacy all in one volume." —Georgia Rowe, Bay Area News Group "This book comes as a great gift—an overwhelming reminder of the ocean planet on which we live, with its great wonders and the risks it faces." —Bill McKibben, author of  Eaarth  and  Oil and Honey " Ocean Country  is a heroine's journey of near-death and discovery, of hopelessness and rebirth. Cunningham's odyssey reveals how immersion into the problems that overwhelm us is a blessing of self-discovery. Where there is carelessness, we find our tenderness; where there is human suffering, we find our sense of compassion. Where there is damage and degradation, we find faith in ourselves and know that human beings can both resist and change all human ignorance." —Paul Hawken, author of  Blessed Unrest  and director of Project Drawdown "A beautifully-written memoir that shows us the ocean through Cunningham’s eyes, with grief for what is lost, awe for what remains, and glimpses of future redemption." —Roz Savage, National Geographic Adventurer of the Year and author of Rowing the Atlantic and Stop Drifting, Start Rowing "A must read for those who want to preserve the beauty and diversity of our world both on sea and on land." — Arlene Blum, author of  Annapurna and  Breaking Trail "Liz Cunningham, in the rich tapestry of her book, documents better that any scientific treatise could, what we stand to lose if we continue to let the oceans go." —Daniel Pauly, author of Five Easy Pieces "A thrilling adventure tale, searing exposé, and moving memoir rolled into one. Ocean Country did something rare and precious: it burnished my hope for the future of our oceans." —Karen Garrison, former codirector of the Natural Resources Defense Council’s Ocean Program "Wave after wave of gripping narrative—mysterious, funny, prophetic and profound—deftly delivers knowledge crucial to our times." —Catherine Keller, author of Cloud of the Impossible and The Face of the Deep "A stunning account of our endangered oceans—of vanishing coral reefs, collapsing fisheries, mindless exploitation and species loss. But that is only the beginning. Time and again, Cunningham discovers threads of hope in people committed to reversing these tragedies. Taken together, by the end, they unlock a hitherto unimagined and hopeful revelation. You can feel it in the author’s heart. You will feel it in your own." —Richard J. Borden, author of Ecology and Experience  “Cunningham has searched and found a powerful response to one of the greatest questions of our time from the deepest part of herself and expressed it with eloquence and wit and discernment, taking the reader along with her for a marvelous ride into a greater state of awareness.” —Susan Murphy, author of Minding the Earth, Mending the World " Ocean Country is a book about the art of the possible. How it is possible to protect the planet’s glorious richness of sea-lives and the life of fisherfolk? How can we harvest the sea without emptying it? How is it possible to bear the oceanic consequences of run-away carbon catastrophe? How is it possible to write a book that both celebrates and informs, calling us to respond with hearts and minds to the crises of the life-sustaining seas? In her book of underwater adventures, Liz Cunningham shows us how.”  —Kathleen Dean Moore, author of Great Tide Rising "Liz Cunningham’s journey is remarkable not only in itself, but because it also symbolizes, and summarizes, important aspects the journeys of everyone concerned about the fate of our planet." —Norman MacLeod, author of The Great Extinctions 'How we’re changing the oce