Join the Charleston Library Society and the Sophia Institute in experiencing one woman’s death-defying, life-affirming journey on the open ocean. Local author Heather Lyn Mann will share personal stories from Ocean of Insight: A Sailor’s Voyage from Despair to Hope. This event is free and open to the public. To RSVP, call 843-723-9912 or email dreutter@charlestonlibrarysociety.org

Heather Lyn Mann was a battle-weary environmental advocate in Madison, Wisconsin, struggling over what to do about climate change when she and her husband decided to explore the Atlantic on a small sloop. This memoir of six years living afloat is a chronological unfolding of disasters and discoveries—life–threatening storms, the boredom of isolation, societies on the brink of extinction, sinking ships, colorful Caribbean characters, near collisions, a pirate scare, and more. Throughout, the ocean becomes Mann’s teacher, transforming her with uncompromising lessons on how to harmonize with natural order, the exact moments and ways to let in fearlessness, resilience, happiness, impermanence, balance, compassion, skillful action, and beginner’s mind.