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.