Phosphorescence

CHAPTER 1

Lessons from a Cuttlefish

Those who dwell, as scientists or laymen, among the beauties or mysteries of the earth are never alone or weary of life. . . . Their thoughts can find paths that lead to inner contentment and to renewed excitement in living. Those who contemplate the beauty of the earth find reserves of strength that will endure as long as life lasts.

­RACHEL CARSON, THE SENSE OF WONDER

The first time I saw a cuttlefish swimming in the wild I was astounded by how prehistoric and alien it looked. Cuttlefish are astonishing creatures, with heads like an elephant s, eight arms they occasionally splay then join together like a trunk, and small bodies ringed with thin, rippling fins that look like a silk shawl. They glide across the ocean floor, changing their color to match the surface underneath them, from gold above sand to brown and red over seaweed, and even their texture, from smooth to thorny, blends in with the background so effectively that they are often noticeable only when they move their silken frills.

Cuttlefish are not just otherworldly in appearance. Consider these facts: Their pupils are shaped like the letter W, and it has been speculated that cuttlefish eyes are fully developed before birth and that the young start observing their surroundings while still in the egg. Their blood is colorless until exposed to air, when it turns blue-­green. They have three hearts and a doughnut-­shaped brain that is larger in proportion to its body size than that of any other invertebrate. The cuttlefish bone ­a white oval-­shaped object often seen washed up on beaches or in parakeet cages ­is actually a thick, calcified internal shell that helps cuttlefish control flotation, and separates them from fellow cephalopods such as squids and octopuses. There are four or five male cuttlefish for every female an excellent ratio in my view ­but all live for only a year or two.

For me, cuttlefish are symbols of awe.

Julia Baird is a bestselling author and award-winning journalist. She hosts The Drum on ABCTV in Australia and writes columns for The New York Times and The Sydney Morning Herald. After moving to the United States to take up a fellowship at the Harvard Kennedy School, she became a columnist and senior editor at Newsweek. Julia's biography of Queen Victoria was published in several countries to critical acclaim and was one of The New York Times's top ten books of the year. She lives near the sea with her two children and a large dog.

Julia Baird is an alchemist, turning the dross of her life s harshest blows into shimmering prose. Ravaged by a broken heart and debilitating cancer, she undertakes a careful examination of what might yet sustain her. Both timeless and timely, this is a book of wisdom and wonder. Geraldine Brooks, Pulitzer Prize winning author of March and Caleb s Crossing

Julia Baird s glorious and gorgeous memoir glows with wisdom and glitters with merriment. This beautiful book is a light in the darkness. Sy Montgomery, author of How to Be a Good Creature

This book is a love letter to the world by a brilliant writer who nearly left it. Julia Baird has gone into the depths of human experience her own, and others and come back with this luminous and profound celebration of people and the planet. Phosphorescence is a treasure to read and re-read your whole life. Anna Funder, author of All That I Am and Stasiland

I loved this book. A cupped hand full of light in a darkened world. A collection of glittering curios. I ll hold it close in trying times. Cal Flyn, author of Islands of Abandonment

Phosphorescence is that rare thing: a book that reminds the reader that change is possible, and that hope is not a luxury but an imperative. Compassionate, expansive, and rigorous, it is a marvel. James Bradley, author of The Resurrectionist

This book is beautiful. It is absolutely my kind of book. A book of tough hope. A light in the dark. A thing of beauty. Phosphorescence itself. [Julia Baird] has been to the tough edges and gives us light. She writes like a dream. Life, nature, hope. You should treat yourself. Matt Haig, author of The Midnight Library

Emotional, introspective . . . It s impossible to read this book and not sense a shift in one s thinking about happiness, joy, and a range of other emotions. Kirkus Reviews

[A] poignant combination of self-help, memoir, and scholarly enlightenment . . .