Description: In this memoir that traverses five continents and spans two centuries, Sonja Boon explores archives, family stories, and her memories in a search for origins, belonging, and home. Her journey is interwoven with reflections on the meaning of music, love, legacy, freedom, memory, ruin, and the relevance of our past to understanding our present.
Brief description:
Sonja Boon is Professor of Gender Studies at Memorial University. An award-winning researcher, writer, teacher, and flutist, she is passionate abut life writing, archives, and identity. For six years, she was principal flutist of the Portland Baroque Orchestra (Oregon). In 2020, she was awarded the Royal Society of Canada's Ursula Franklin Award in Gender Studies. What the Oceans Remember is her fourth book.
Review Quotes: "What the Oceans Remember is breathtaking in scope. Reaching across continents, oceans and histories, it shows us what it means to live in the shadow of freedom while unfree; how the colour of a person's skin can determine if they are seen or invisible; how the word home can exclude; how the beauty of music can be a balm; how the invaluable quiet of an archive can quake with unearthed voices. Unrelentingly honest, sometimes harrowing, steeped in rich and startling insight, and conveyed in transparent prose - elegant as silk, tough as steel.--Lisa Moore, author of the story collection Something for Everyone