The moving story of a young teacher’s experience on an island forgotten by the world
Though the children of Yamacraw Island live less than two miles from the coast of South Carolina, they can’t name the president or the ocean that surrounds them. Many can’t sign their names. Most can’t read or write—they’re unable to reach their potential to grow and learn because they have been failed by their school district and handicapped by their poverty and isolation. But with the arrival of an eager young teacher, their prospects begin to brighten.
Based on Pat Conroy’s experiences teaching elementary school for a year on South Carolina’s Daufuskie Island, The Water Is Wide is a revealing portrait of the inequalities of the American education system and a powerful story of the group of children that changed one man’s life forever.
Review
“Miraculous . . . an experience of joy.” —Newsweek
“A hell of a good story.” —The New York Times
“An exciting and inspiring book.” —St. Louis Post-Dispatch
From the Inside Flap
The island is nearly deserted, haunting, beautiful. Across a slip of ocean lies South Carolina. But for the handful of families on Yamacraw island, America is a world away. For years the people here lived proudly from the sea, but now its waters are not safe. Waste from industry threatens their very existence?unless, somehow, they can learn a new life. But they will learn nothing without someone to teach them, and their school has no teacher.
Here is PAT CONROY?S extraordinary drama based on his own experience?the true story of a man who gave a year of his life to an island and the new life its people gave him.
Description:
The bestselling Pat Conroy memoir.
The moving story of a young teacher’s experience on an island forgotten by the world
Though the children of Yamacraw Island live less than two miles from the coast of South Carolina, they can’t name the president or the ocean that surrounds them. Many can’t sign their names. Most can’t read or write—they’re unable to reach their potential to grow and learn because they have been failed by their school district and handicapped by their poverty and isolation. But with the arrival of an eager young teacher, their prospects begin to brighten.
Based on Pat Conroy’s experiences teaching elementary school for a year on South Carolina’s Daufuskie Island, The Water Is Wide is a revealing portrait of the inequalities of the American education system and a powerful story of the group of children that changed one man’s life forever.
Review
“Miraculous . . . an experience of joy.” —Newsweek
“A hell of a good story.” —The New York Times
“An exciting and inspiring book.” —St. Louis Post-Dispatch
From the Inside Flap
The island is nearly deserted, haunting, beautiful. Across a slip of ocean lies South Carolina. But for the handful of families on Yamacraw island, America is a world away. For years the people here lived proudly from the sea, but now its waters are not safe. Waste from industry threatens their very existence?unless, somehow, they can learn a new life. But they will learn nothing without someone to teach them, and their school has no teacher.
Here is PAT CONROY?S extraordinary drama based on his own experience?the true story of a man who gave a year of his life to an island and the new life its people gave him.