Swamp Goddess: True Stories from the Okefenokee Swamp

by Cathy J Sakas

Overview

Through a naturalist's eye, Swamp Goddess introduces armchair adventurers to the incredible wonders of the incomparable Okefenokee Swamp, a vast natural wilderness in southeast Georgia. Humorous antics of brave souls who join the author on overnight expeditions reveal the indomitable adventurous human spirit even in the face of virulent weather, unpredictable fauna and insectivorous plants.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781735619217
Publisher:	Maudlin Pond Press
Publication date:	04/30/2021
Pages:	330
Product dimensions:	5.50(w) x 8.50(h) x 0.69(d)

About the Author

Author Cathy J. Sakas - Educator/Producer/Naturalist/Author Cathy's love of water began at birth on Virginia's southern Chesapeake Bay. She is happiest in, on or under water - salt, fresh or brackish. With a BS in Biology and MEd in Science, her career has been as naturalist/guide and producer, writer, host, and narrator of TV nature documentaries and now author. Cathy worked with NOAA Gray's Reef NMS as an ocean science educator, scientific diver, certified submersible pilot, and Aquanaut. Passionate about protecting our ocean and coast, she serves locally on several NGO boards and as Biologist-at-the-Design-Table for SCAD's Biomimicry Class. In her spare time, she sings for a local band, The World Famous Crabettes. With husband Christopher Morris she lives in the Treehouse he built in the woods along with wild animals and a few cats. They also spend time at their cozy beach-chic cottage on Tybee Island called Cottage of the Octopus Lair.

Editorial Reviews

2023-06-23
In this debut memoir, TV documentary producer Sakas spins yarns from her years paddling through one of America’s great wetlands.

The great Okefenokee Swamp covers 700 square miles along the Georgia-Florida border. Its tannin-rich waters are known for their high acidity and tea-black color, and the slow, warm waterways are a favorite destination for kayakers year-round. For decades, Sakas has led tourists on multiday excursions into the vast wetlands, navigating its majestic cypress groves and pine islands. This book offers a bit of that experience to those who’ve never booked a tour with her: “My intent is to help the reader experience the exquisite greatness and small magical wonders this incredible wilderness holds,” she writes in her preface. For instance, she tells of a visitor in 1983 who, at 6 feet, 9 inches, was too tall for his tent; as he slept, his uncovered head attracted a bobcat, who cuddled against it and fell asleep, leading to a very rude awakening. She also tells of the time that she and her companions accidentally incurred the wrath of a territorial mother alligator, who pursued them over multiple days. Many stories are about the unusual ways people interact in nature, as in a late-night heart-to-heart among four older women in 2007, during which one admitted to eating her cremated husband’s ashes. Sakas writes with energy and enthusiasm throughout, as when she describes the breakneck escape from the aforementioned alligator: “I am positive we could have stroked a Harvard rowboat team. We paddled intently, in unison. We had only one goal. Get past momma. I looked back in time to see momma make one last mighty lunge in renewed effort and even greater determination than before.” The text is accompanied by dozens of full-color photographs of the swamp and various people mentioned in the stories. The anecdotal book has the feel of a good travel blog, although readers with a particular interest in the Okefenokee are likely to enjoy it most.

A spirited remembrance from a nature-loving guide.

Kirkus Reviews