Swimming to the Top of the Tide: Finding Life Where Land and Water Meet
Four seasons of immersion in New England’s Great Marsh

“Like Wendell Berry and Rachel Carson, Hanlon is a true poet-ecologist, sharing in exquisitely resonant prose her patient observations of nature’s most intimate details. As she and her husband, through summer and snow, swim their local creeks and estuaries, we marvel at the timeless yet fragile terrain of both marshlands and marriage. This is the book to awaken all of us, right now, to how our coastline is changing and what it means for our future.” —Julia Glass, author of Three Junes and A House Among the Trees

The Great Marsh is the largest continuous stretch of salt marsh in New England, extending from Cape Ann to New Hampshire. Patricia Hanlon and her husband built their home and raised their children alongside it. But it is not until the children are grown that they begin to swim the tidal estuary daily. Immersing herself, she experiences, with all her senses in all seasons, the vigor of a place where the two ecosystems of fresh and salt water mix, merge, and create new life.

In Swimming to the Top of the Tide, Hanlon lyrically charts her explorations, at once intimate and scientific. Noting the disruptions caused by human intervention, she bears witness to the vitality of the watersheds, their essential role in the natural world, and the responsibility of those who love them to contribute to their sustainability.

Patricia Hanlon is a visual artist who paints the beautiful ecosystem of New England’s Great Marsh and is involved in the watershed organizations of Greater Boston. Swimming to the Top of the Tide is her first book.

1139319243
Swimming to the Top of the Tide: Finding Life Where Land and Water Meet
Four seasons of immersion in New England’s Great Marsh

“Like Wendell Berry and Rachel Carson, Hanlon is a true poet-ecologist, sharing in exquisitely resonant prose her patient observations of nature’s most intimate details. As she and her husband, through summer and snow, swim their local creeks and estuaries, we marvel at the timeless yet fragile terrain of both marshlands and marriage. This is the book to awaken all of us, right now, to how our coastline is changing and what it means for our future.” —Julia Glass, author of Three Junes and A House Among the Trees

The Great Marsh is the largest continuous stretch of salt marsh in New England, extending from Cape Ann to New Hampshire. Patricia Hanlon and her husband built their home and raised their children alongside it. But it is not until the children are grown that they begin to swim the tidal estuary daily. Immersing herself, she experiences, with all her senses in all seasons, the vigor of a place where the two ecosystems of fresh and salt water mix, merge, and create new life.

In Swimming to the Top of the Tide, Hanlon lyrically charts her explorations, at once intimate and scientific. Noting the disruptions caused by human intervention, she bears witness to the vitality of the watersheds, their essential role in the natural world, and the responsibility of those who love them to contribute to their sustainability.

Patricia Hanlon is a visual artist who paints the beautiful ecosystem of New England’s Great Marsh and is involved in the watershed organizations of Greater Boston. Swimming to the Top of the Tide is her first book.

17.99 In Stock
Swimming to the Top of the Tide: Finding Life Where Land and Water Meet

Swimming to the Top of the Tide: Finding Life Where Land and Water Meet

by Patricia Hanlon
Swimming to the Top of the Tide: Finding Life Where Land and Water Meet

Swimming to the Top of the Tide: Finding Life Where Land and Water Meet

by Patricia Hanlon

Paperback

$17.99 
  • SHIP THIS ITEM
    Ships in 1-2 days
  • PICK UP IN STORE

    Your local store may have stock of this item.

Related collections and offers


Overview

Four seasons of immersion in New England’s Great Marsh

“Like Wendell Berry and Rachel Carson, Hanlon is a true poet-ecologist, sharing in exquisitely resonant prose her patient observations of nature’s most intimate details. As she and her husband, through summer and snow, swim their local creeks and estuaries, we marvel at the timeless yet fragile terrain of both marshlands and marriage. This is the book to awaken all of us, right now, to how our coastline is changing and what it means for our future.” —Julia Glass, author of Three Junes and A House Among the Trees

The Great Marsh is the largest continuous stretch of salt marsh in New England, extending from Cape Ann to New Hampshire. Patricia Hanlon and her husband built their home and raised their children alongside it. But it is not until the children are grown that they begin to swim the tidal estuary daily. Immersing herself, she experiences, with all her senses in all seasons, the vigor of a place where the two ecosystems of fresh and salt water mix, merge, and create new life.

In Swimming to the Top of the Tide, Hanlon lyrically charts her explorations, at once intimate and scientific. Noting the disruptions caused by human intervention, she bears witness to the vitality of the watersheds, their essential role in the natural world, and the responsibility of those who love them to contribute to their sustainability.

Patricia Hanlon is a visual artist who paints the beautiful ecosystem of New England’s Great Marsh and is involved in the watershed organizations of Greater Boston. Swimming to the Top of the Tide is her first book.


Product Details

ISBN-13: 9781942658870
Publisher: Bellevue Literary Press
Publication date: 06/08/2021
Pages: 224
Sales rank: 989,253
Product dimensions: 7.30(w) x 5.00(h) x 0.60(d)

About the Author

Patricia Hanlon is a visual artist who paints the beautiful ecosystem of New England’s Great Marsh and is involved in the watershed organizations of Greater Boston. Swimming to the Top of the Tide chronicles a year of swimming the tidal estuaries with her husband, Robert, and is her first book.

Table of Contents

Land and Sea: An Overture 15

Part 1 21

Bedrock 23

River Basin 26

Tidal Strait 34

Ebben Creek 40

Tidelog 45

September 47

Biologist 51

Cold 58

Fall Equinox 68

November 74

Winter Solstice 86

January 92

Swimming in Parentheses 97

Quarry 102

Late Winter 109

Spring Equinox 114

The Return of Green 116

Walking to the Bottom of the Tide 123

Full Circle 132

Part 2 135

Ground Truth 137

A Longer View 150

Nassau, Again 155

Areas of Critical Environmental Concern 160

Channels 170

Airborne 189

Earthbound 193

Swimming to the Top of the Tide 198

Epilogue 209

Acknowledgments 215

Endnotes 217

From the B&N Reads Blog

Customer Reviews