SHORTLISTED FOR WATERSTONES BOOK OF THE YEAR In Island Dreams, Gavin Francis combines stories of his own travels with psychology, philosophy and myth, shedding new light on the importance of islands and isolation in our collective consciousness. Francis draws on thirty years of island adventures from the Faroe Islands to the Aegean, from the Galapagos to the Andaman Islands. He contrasts these quests for freedom with the demands for commitment required as a doctor, community member and parent. Island Dreams riffs on the twin poles of rest and motion, independence and attachment, never more relevant than in today’s ever-connected world.
A visual celebration of the landscapes and blue waters of the Caribbean Sea includes photography of the cities, beaches, and interiors of such islands as Cuba, Jamaica, and Martinique, reflecting the author's and photographer's efforts to capture the region's relaxed lifestyle. 12,000 first printing.
"My family has been forced to live like an island with no political party, president, or official language. We are not of any "new world" Columbus discovered. We are not Dominican enough or American enough to call either place home. We live and love with one foot on the ground and one foot in the sea." This is how Jasminne Mendez describes what it was like for her to grow up a Dominican American military brat. Always feeling like a foreigner in both lands because people want to know "where you from," and "how do you know Spanish?" In "Island of Dreams," author Jasminne Mendez, addresses these questions and their complicated answers in a multi-genre memoir that effortlessly blends poems and short stories to offer a glimpse into the challenges, joys, hopes, fears and disappointments she and her family faced being Dominican in America. Her work explores everything from the love/hate relationship she had with her hair and her mother, to the many memorable but sometimes unpleasant family vacations and holidays she shared with her parents, siblings, primos, t�os, y t�as. These captivating stories and poems are about family, food, love, culture, self-discovery, assimilation, and the American dream. They are about a young girl who respects the richness and abundance of her cultural history, but who struggles to form her own identity because her Dominican values conflict with her American self and all she wants to do is find a place to call home. Join memoir-writer Jasminne Mendez in this luscious recalling of her family's multi-faceted sojourn of family ties and their meaning, glorious cooking and eating, belonging and not belonging, and so many other complicated forays into the storied past. Sarah Cortez, author, "Walking Home: Growing Up Hispanic in Houston."Jasminne builds bridges between many worlds. Her potent voice conjures images of the Dominican Republican, Texas, Houston, the world. I've had the pleasure of seeing her perform in person. She is amazing in 3D. Actually, she performs in 6D-adding spirit, whimsy, and the future. She code-switches so brilliantly that you don't notice that she has jumped from Spanish to English to Spanglish to universal themes and back. Her work not only stands up on the page but takes on new meaning with potency, shattering barriers, breaking borders. This book will boggle your mind and thrill you. Tony Diaz, "El Librotraficante," founder of Nuestra Palabra: Latino Writers Having Their Say
Island Dreams is a true story of the wonders of British Columbias northern Gulf Islands. Swimming in the middle of the Strait of Georgia, these enchanting isles are serenaded by whales and surrounded by crushing depths; caressed by languorous calms and brutalized by terrifying storms. Island Dreams tells of one familys move to Olsen Island, one of the uninhabited gems nestled close by the isle of Lasqueti. Their story tacks through the wild beauty of these islands and dives on glass sponge reefs shimmering in the surrounding depths. Its an exploration of earthquake faults deep below Vancouver Island and the birth of Qualicum winds. Island Dreams also chronicles the natural and anthropological history of the islandstheir formation, the glaciers that scoured them, and the first plants and animals that appeared there. It follows the first migrating Asians who skiffed down the coast, and explores the First Nations villages their ancestors founded. The robust cast of characters includes Sisters Islands light keepers and depression-era fishermen who beach-combed lumber for their island fishing shacks. Island Dreams is also a tale of Lasqueti Island, held out of time by the special folks who make it their home. It is a story of islanders, and of the wind and waves that forge them into believers in the redemptive power of a wild environment.
Dan Boothby had been drifting for more than twenty years, without the pontoons of family, friends or a steady occupation. He was looking for but never finding the perfect place to land. Finally, unexpectedly, an opportunity presented itself. After a lifelong obsession with Gavin Maxwell's Ring of Bright Water trilogy, Boothby was given the chance to move to Maxwell's former home, a tiny island on the western seaboard of the Highlands of Scotland. Island of Dreams is about Boothby's time living there, and about the natural and human history that surrounded him; it's about the people he meets and the stories they tell, and about his engagement with this remote landscape, including the otters that inhabit it. Interspersed with Boothby's own story is a quest to better understand the mysterious Gavin Maxwell. Beautifully written and frequently leavened with a dry wit, Island of Dreams is a charming celebration of the particularities of place.
Andrea has to spend a month with her Aunt Madelyn and then is forced to go on a mission for the museum where her aunt works. But the artifact they have come for is stolen, and when one of the group is murdered, Andrea begins to ask questions and finds herself in danger!
Finally in English, Island of Shattered Dreams is the first ever novel by an indigenous Tahitian writer. In a lyrical and immensely moving style, this book combines a family saga and a doomed love story, set against the background of French Polynesia in the period leading up to the first nuclear tests. The text is highly critical of the French government, and as a result its publication in Tahiti was polarising.
She dreams of Sable Island She goes there in her sleep The fog comes softly to her and she drifts across the deep. Nova Scotia-based paper-doll artist Briana Corr Scott's first children's picture book explores the wilds of the childhood imagination and of the shape-shifting Sable Island. Written as a gentle, lyrical poem, She Dreams of Sable Island is a wonderful read-aloud for bedtime, and a fact-filled exploration for curious readers who dream of adventuring to one of Nova Scotia's most remarkable--and untouched--landscapes. Includes an illustrated map of Sable Island, descriptions of flora and fauna found on the island, a paper doll and accessories--even a Sable Island horse!
All adventures have humble beginnings, and Roberts voyage is no exception. While on a harmless road trip with his family, he stopped off to have a picnic with some of his wifes great-aunts. One of the auntsa known fortunetellerpulled out her runes, and for some reason Robert felt pulled to her. She read his fortune that innocent day, but his reading would change his life forever. While crossing a darkened lake nestled in the Wisconsin North Woods, Robert falls into the Otherworld of the Spirit of Man. He leaves his body behind, allowing his spirit to travel freely, with the guidance of a wizard mentor. The balance that keeps humankind from destroying itself has been fatally tipped, and Robert is our only hope for survival. He must search for a Healer who can mend the rift before its too late. The Archipelago of Dreams uses the medium of symbolic fantasy to explore the Waking Dreamthe dream that is human life. Robert has found a link to his dream self, and it is in this dreamlike state that he must accomplish his mission. He cannot do it alone. With the help of a wizard, a tree warrior, and an ancient dream Healer, humanity can be saved. But will the rift be mended, or will Robert be trapped in the spirit realm forever?
Personalities and events are wrapped in Ogle's unique and candid history of Key West, an account that will fascinate past and president citizens of the Conch Republic, history buffs, and the millions of tourists who love this colorful island city. 44 photos.
