Lifesaving Lessons: Notes from an Accidental Mother

Linda is not a woman who shies away from a challenge--the only female swordfish boat captain in the country and a survivor of the real Perfect Storm, she is also a New York Times bestselling author. Through hard work and determination, she had created the peaceful, independent life she craved, living on a rugged island off the coast of Maine. It was all finally coming together. Then came Mariah. A troubled fifteen-year-old, Mariah arrives on Isle au Haut to stay with her uncle, a newcomer himself and seemingly a normal guy. The entire community is rocked to its core, however, when they discover that Mariah is suffering terrible abuse--at his hands. And they do what a small island community does best, coming together to take Mariah in as one of their own, protecting her from further harm. But Mariah needs a stable home and a legal guardian. The island nominates Linda. While Mariah is a typical teenager in many ways, she has also been uniquely damaged by this horrific experience, and Linda struggles to help her overcome the trauma, to heal, and to begin a new life. Linda will do battle with the gale-force winds of life with a teenager, help Mariah navigate a tremendously complex legal system to bring her abuser to justice, and learn what it means to be a mother--to a girl for whom it really matters. Both Linda and Mariah will struggle to come to terms with their ferocious and stubborn independence (like mother, like daughter--accidental or not) as they learn to trust each other and forge a new relationship that they both reluctantly realize they need. Linda Greenlaw's fans will be delighted by her trademark candor and down-to-earth style of storytelling, and will see a side of Greenlaw that she's not revealed before. New listeners, and any parent of a teenaged daughter, will find much to empathize with in this brave and heartfelt new memoir.