Seven-Tenths

In 1995, a mechanical engineer whose career and heart are adrift meets a blind oceanographer who spends much of her life at sea. Sailing the Arabian Sea as Amy's eyes, David Fisichella watches her adapt to progressive vision loss while he finds his own bearings, confronts the mysteries of ocean currents, survives an armed pirate attack, and learns what it means to be working for, and dating, the chief scientist. Fisichella describes the Woods Hole crew's research in clear,...
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In 1995, a mechanical engineer whose career and heart are adrift meets a blind oceanographer who spends much of her life at sea. Sailing the Arabian Sea as Amy's eyes, David Fisichella watches her adapt to progressive vision loss while he finds his own bearings, confronts the mysteries of ocean currents, survives an armed pirate attack, and learns what it means to be working for, and dating, the chief scientist. Fisichella describes the Woods Hole crew's research in clear, straightforward language, and enlivens his account of their shipboard lives with gritty details, humor, and a refreshing sense of wonder about our oceans. When Fisichella meets Amy, an oceanographer with rapidly deteriorating vision, he is trapped in a crumbling marriage, stuck in an unhappy career with a defense contractor, and looking for a way out of both. He finds it when Amy invites him to take a research cruise with her at sea. Wondrous observations about the world's oceans, encounters with Somali pirates, and most of all, the story of one woman's devotion to her scientific career despite enormous obstacles are woven together with skill and empathy. A memoir that will entrance anyone looking for a second chance at life and love.