Quarterfinalist for the 2021 BookLife Prize

 

​"It is apparent that the author has carefully crafted each line of prose. Her words are meaning-laden and potent, with not one wasted word or syllable." 

 

In this bold and lyrical debut, Sondra weaves personal narrative with philosophical themes, crafting a story about love, solitude, and the unsayable urges that run beneath our lives.

 

Sleeping in the woods outside a medieval city in Spain, she ponders her decision to abandon a more ordinary life. "I am here to decipher nature," she writes. "But as the stone glints back, I know this is a lie. Humans can decipher nothing but their own small lives."

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Read an excerpt here.​ Buy it on Bookshop here. Buy it on Indie Bound here. 

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Buy it on Amazon or Amazon Kindle for $0.99 here.

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"The Sea Once Swallowed Me is an impassioned work of personal and travel memoir, in which the author searches for connection to the natural world; a sense of greater philosophical purpose; and—ultimately—romantic love.  Her path toward understanding herself, her choices, and the nuances of the world around her, will captivate readers."—Publisher's Weekly Reviewer, for the BookLife Prize ​