Coming to Pass tells the story of a little-developed necklace of northern Gulf Coast islands. Both a field guide to a beloved and impermanent Florida landscape and a call for its protection, Susan Cerulean's memoir chronicles the uniquely beautiful coast as it once was, as it is now, and as it may be as the sea level rises.
For decades, Cerulean has kayaked, hiked, and counted birds on and around Dog, the St. Georges, and St. Vincent Islands with family and friends. She has collected scallops, snorkeled over a fallen lighthouse a mile offshore, and cast nets and fishing lines into cyclical runs of mullet and shrimp.
Like most people, she didn't know how the islands had come to be or understand the large-scale change coming to the coast. With her husband, oceanographer Jeff Chanton, she studied the genesis of the coast and its inextricable link to the Apalachicola River. She interviewed scientists as they tracked and tallied magnificent and dwindling sea turtles, snowy white beach mice, and endangered plants. Illustrated with images from prizewinning nature photographer David Moynahan, Coming to Pass is the culmination of Cerulean's explorations and a reflection of our spiritual relationship and responsibilities to the world that holds us.
"[A]s she explores the landscape, she shares the poetic imagery of her dreamscapes. The power of Cerulean's lyrical voice is matched by her keen grasp of science - it makes for a blend that is both alluring and compelling, and it's beautifully illustrated with images."
Kati Schardl, Tallahassee Democrat
"Impassioned, eloquent appeals for the removal of an immoral, inhuman, and ineffective form of punishment."
Jan DeBlieu, author of Wind
"Sad, hopeful, earthly. Sue Cerulean's memories of sea and shore touch off a range of emotions. The eloquence of her words enthrall, and we should heed them. They belong to an unassailable voice that has long called for honoring life that gives us ours. Hers is the voice of our time and destiny."
