Long Time No Sea

After surviving an ill-fated scuba dive that nearly took his life, Jeff Denning became a veteran deep-sea diver who found enlightenment, awe, and purpose in the realm of the undersea. Here he pays tribute to life and nature in this collection of short essays, most of which were spawned by his lifelong love affair with the ocean.

Long Time, No Sea contains Denning’s stories of adventures and misadventures gathered from forty-five years and more than 1,700 scuba dives, including his dreams, his failures, and the demons he invited to dinner. Laced throughout is his growing awareness of the similarities and differences between Planet Earth—the world that is familiar to all of us—and Planet Ocean—his private undersea wonderland.

Denning lived through heartbreak, a Category 5 hurricane, and a heart attack, all against the backdrop of scuba diving in the tropics. He also found joy, a new love, and peace in the otherworldly beauty of the undersea, where he vanquished his demons and learned a different truth about mankind.

"… to take the reader both underwater and into his mind as he makes sense of life on land. There are some beguiling insights that even the ocean-phobic can find fascinating." — Kirkus Reviews

Sweet and Nostalgic Memoir – This is a love song written by Mr. Denning to his coming-of-age years, written in a straightforward and unassuming but wonderfully descriptive style. His protagonist, slowly emerging from awkward and uncertain youth, displays a basic decency and capacity to learn from others as his time on his own camping among a remote island community triggers his emergence into young adulthood.

Touching and poignant memoir – No Palm Trees On Cuttyhunk: Surviving My Adolescence is the touching story of 14-year old Geoff's life-changing summer spent camping on an island worlds away from his loving but tyrannical father. The story captures the exquisite emotional roller coaster of a 1950s era adolescent who experiences love and freedom for the first time. The cast of supporting characters is brought to life via vivid dialogue and the author depicts the devastating effects of alcoholism with honesty and courage, as seen through the eyes of a curious, likeable and buoyant teen on the cusp of manhood.

Voice, growth, and redemption - I know the author, which gives me a unique perspective. As the story unfolds I can hear the authors voice. He successfully transported me back to that brief coming of age time we all experience. His life experiences that first summer on the island and the redemption of the relationship with his father.