Leaving the Ocean Was a Mistake

Life Lessons from Sixty Sea Creatures

Cara Giaimo, Vlad Stankovic

$29.99

Hardback

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QTY:

English

Quirk Books
18 November 2025

Self-help & personal development; Humour; Wildlife: aquatic creatures

Sixty bizarre and beautiful marine creatures offer their best tips for self-confidence, serenity, and fulfillment-drawn from real-life facts about our fascinating natural world.

Sixty bizarre and beautiful marine creatures offer affirmations for self-confidence, serenity, and fulfillment-drawn from real-life facts about our fascinating natural world.

If you sometimes wish you could sink back into the depths of the ocean, great news-the strange little guys who still live down there will receive you with open arms (and fins, claws, and tentacles). But if you're not quite ready to take to the sea, these friendly denizens of the deep offer solid advice for living on dry land, such as the following-

""If you're happy and you know it, digest your brain.""-The star tunicate, who avoids anxiety by digesting much of its own body

""Never be afraid to set-and enforce-your boundaries.""-The gloomy octopus, who protects its personal space by throwing dirt at anyone who bothers it

""It's good to get it all out.""-The fire-breathing shrimp, who vomits bioluminescent goo when threatened

""If you love someone, absorb them into your bloodstream.""-The fanfin anglerfish, who expresses love by fusing with its mate

And more wonderfully wacky undersea weirdos who really know how to live!

Beautifully illustrated with striking watercolor portraits of the ocean's most eccentric creatures, Leaving the Ocean Was a Mistake will make you long to return to the seas-but it will also help you bring a freewheeling, relaxed, self-actualized ocean spirit to even the driest life.

By: Cara Giaimo, Vlad Stankovic
Imprint: Quirk Books
Country of Publication: United States
Dimensions: Height: 152mm, Width: 127mm,
Weight: 567g
ISBN: 9781683695073
ISBN 10: 1683695070
Pages: 128
Publication Date: 18 November 2025
Audience: General/trade , ELT Advanced
Format: Hardback
Publisher's Status: Active

Cara Giaimo is a science journalist who loves writing about our fellow species. You can find her work in the New York Times, Atlas Obscura, The Plant, and elsewhere. Cara lives in Somerville, MA, above sea level. Vlad Stankovic is an illustrator and graphic designer based in Sydney, Australia.

Reviews for Leaving the Ocean Was a Mistake: Life Lessons from Sixty Sea Creatures

“Giaimo does a wonderful job engaging readers’ sense of wonder by introducing them to animals that they may have never encountered before, while also dispensing nuggets of advice to bring smiles to their faces.”—Library Journal