Traveling with Ghosts

November 28, 2016
Fowler, a lover of the ocean and marine life from an early age who trained as a marine biologist, was devastated when her fiancé was killed by a jellyfish while they were on vacation in Thailand. Fowler’s moving account traces her grief following the accident. Unable to face the ocean, Fowler forced herself back into the world, traveling for four months and visiting 10 countries off the usual tourist routes. She spent time with the two Israeli women who supported her throughout the ordeal in Thailand; she ventures to war-ravaged Sarajevo. Fowler notes that, “After Israel and Bosnia, Croatia seemed safe and peaceful and mellow.” Wherever she travels, however, memories of her fiancé are with her, and she continues to come to terms with his death: she learns of other numerous deaths—she never is able to determine how many—from the same deadly species of jellyfish near where her fiancé died. Fowler notes that there were no warnings regarding the poisonous jellyfish, and officials initially attempted to claim his death was caused by drunkenness. This is nicely written and informative journey on the path to healing.

December 1, 2016
A marine biologist who suffered a grievous loss when she was in her 20s debuts with a wrenching account of that loss, her ensuing suffering, and her attempts to regain a sense of purpose.Be prepared to encounter time for what it really is inside our minds, an out-of-balance mixture of tenses that makes clocks, calendars, and language itself seem inadequate. In August 2002, Fowler (from California) and her fiance, Sean (an Australian), were in Thailand, where he died almost immediately after being stung by a box jellyfish in the surf. The author's world collapsed. The two appeared to have been created for each other, sharing a love of travel to remote places all over the world, a sense of humor, and much more. Fowler recounts their travels that August and the following months, and she takes us back earlier in their relationship and to her girlhood, when she first fell in love with the ocean. The narrative is segmented, with chapters that leap about in time, resembling the actions of a mind and heart in distress. Throughout, the author deals frankly with all aspects of her experience: the body of her lover, her fears of being assaulted as she traveled alone around Eastern Europe afterward, Sean's family basically cutting her off later on. Fowler also shares the story of the devotion--there is no other word--conferred upon her by two young Israeli women whom she didn't initially know but who stuck with her in Thailand and beyond. They would not let her suffer and cope alone with all the bureaucratic hassle. She also periodically inserts brief news accounts of quite a few others who died in similar fashion in the same vicinity and wonders why there are not posted beach warnings. A courageous and finely crafted account soaked in tears of love and loss.

COPYRIGHT(2016) Kirkus Reviews, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.