Coming to Pass - by Susan Cerulean (Paperback)

About the Book

"Ten years ago, Sue Cerulean realized the coastlines of her childhood along the New Jersey shore and of her adult years (a little-developed necklace of Gulf islands in Florida) were beginning to shift into the sea. She began to chronicle the story of "her" coastal areas as they are now, as they once were, and how they might be as Earth's oceans rise. "Coming to Pass" is both a field guide to a beloved and impermanent landscape, and a call for its protection. Cerulean and her husband, oceanographer Jeff Chanton, took many field trips in various parts of these coastal areas. But their varied explorations were anything but academic, as they sailed, kayaked, hiked, and counted birds. They snorkeled over a fallen lighthouse that lies a mile offshore of a rolling island, and cast nets and fishing lines into cyclical runs of mullet and shrimp. They tracked and tallied magnificent and dwindling sea turtles, snowy white beach mice, and endangered plants. As she watched how wild creatures define their own needs, and their territories, she reflected on our human spiritual relationship and responsibilities to the world that holds us. The book will be illustrated with occasional images from prize-winning nature photographer David Moynahan"--

Book Synopsis

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.

Review Quotes

[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"

In Coming to Pass, Susan Cerulean shows us the Florida coastal system with passion and insight. But she also has a lovely presence on the page - the kind of which I never tire. It's easy to see why she so loves that landscape and seascape, because she brings them so alive.--Jan DeBlieu "author of Wind, winner of the John Burroughs Medal for Distinguished Natural History Writing"

In blending calls for action with scientific evidence and lovely descriptions along an often-overlooked area, Cerulean's book adds to the growing body of Florida literature that strives to invoke a sense of place in readers and spur them to action. And she firmly stands in the wake of Florida women who fought for the last century to save the state's natural resources - a legacy she continues through her luminous words.--Leslie K. Poole "Florida Historical Quarterly"

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.--Jack E. Davis "author of An Everglades Providence: Marjory Stoneman Douglas and the American Environmental Century"

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.-- "Southeasten Naturalist"

About the Author

SUSAN CERULEAN is a writer, naturalist, and advocate based in Tallahassee, Florida. She has written and edited many books, including gold medal Florida Book Award winner Coming to Pass: Florida's Coastal Islands in a Gulf of Change, and her nature memoir, Tracking Desire: A Journey after Swallow-tailed Kites (both Georgia), that was named and Editor's Choice title by Audubon magazine. I Have Been Assigned the Single Bird: A Daughter's Memoir (also Georgia) is her most recent work.