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    A Drop in the Ocean: A Novel
    A Drop in the Ocean: A Novel
    A Drop in the Ocean: A Novel
    Audiobook9 hours

    A Drop in the Ocean: A Novel

    Written by Jenni Ogden

    Narrated by Cat Gould

    4/5

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    About this audiobook

    On her forty-ninth birthday, Anna Fergusson, Boston neuroscientist and dedicated introvert, arrives at an unwanted crossroads when the funding for her research lab is cut. With her confidence shattered and her future uncertain, on impulse she rents a cabin for a year on Australia's Great Barrier Reef. However Turtle Island, alive with sea birds and nesting Green turtles, is not the retreat she expected. Here she finds love-for the eccentric islanders who become her family; for Tom, the laid-back turtle whisperer; and for the turtles whose ancient mothering instincts move her to tears. But Anna finds that even on her idyllic drop in the ocean there is pain, and as the months fly past her dream for a new life is threatened by a darkness that challenges everything she has come to believe about the power of love.

    Evocative and thought-provoking, A Drop in the Ocean is a story about second chances and hard lessons learned in the gentlest of ways.
    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherTantor Media, Inc
    Release dateAug 14, 2018
    ISBN9781977388414

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    Reviews for A Drop in the Ocean

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    • 5/5
      I love fiction written by scientists. This author is amazing. Her writing transported me to the island where this story takes place. Imagine being on a tiny island near the Great Barrier Reef in Australia. The author wrote such great descriptions that I could almost hear the thousands of birds nesting and raising chicks. I felt as though I was snorkeling and watching the sea turtles nest.Her science is impeccable as she writes what she know, neuroscience. I am a retired Clinical Lab Scientist so I really appreciate it when the science is correct. If you haven't read this book I urge you to do so.
    • 4/5
      4.5 stars.

      A Drop in the Ocean by Jenni Ogden is a thought-provoking journey of self-discovery for lead protagonist Anna Fergusson.

      At loose ends when her Huntingdon's Disease research ends after losing funding, Anna impulsively applies for a position as a camp ground caretaker on an isolated island off the coast of Australia. Eagerly exploring Turtle Island, she quickly becomes fascinated by the sea turtle nesting monitoring being carried out by Tom Scarlett. Although Anna is an introvert who is used to her own company, it does not take long for loneliness to set in and she quickly befriends several of her fellow island dwellers. Surprised by her attraction to Tom, an easygoing romance develops between them but complications ensue after Anna realizes her feelings run much deeper than friendship.

      After having her heart broken in her mid twenties, Anna decided to give up on relationships and focus exclusively on her career. Now forty-nine, she leads a fairly sterile, lonely life. She is not especially close to her mother but she does have one close friend she has known since college. Suffering from low self-esteem and a lack of confidence, she is having a difficult time deciding what to do after her research project ends. While confident the isolation of Turtle Island won't bother her, Anna is taken off guard by how quickly she begins to feels lonely once she settles into a regular routine. Afraid her overtures will be rebuffed, she is at first hesitant to approach her neighbors, but Anna is pleasantly surprised by how welcoming everyone is.

      In between her duties at the camp, Anna volunteers to help Tom with his sea turtle research. He is friendly and fun loving, but he gives up very few details about himself. Initially tongue-tied and shy in his company, Anna is convinced he would never be interested in a dried up old spinster (which is how she perceives herself) so she tries to ignore her growing attraction to him. Their friendship begins to change after they spend a few days together on a neighboring island, but Anna is confused by their casual relationship. While she is ready to take a chance on a future together, Tom is not exactly receptive to a commitment of any kind.

      While her relationship with Tom is a bit uncertain, Anna's newfound friendships with the other islanders flourish. She is quite close with Pat Anderson, a widow who lives year round on Turtle Island. Pat's enthusiasm and zest for life is just what Anna needs to coax her into experiencing all of the wonders the island has to offer. As the months pass, Anna finds more than friendship with her neighbors as her life becomes enmeshed with theirs. Most surprising is the surrogate family she finds with Kirsty and her newborn. This relationship is a source of wonder and joy as Anna delights in the unexpected connection she feels with the young mother and her baby.

      With a cast of multi-layered characters and a captivating setting, A Drop in the Ocean by is a heartfelt and engaging novel that is quite compelling. The storyline is richly developed with interesting facts about various topics and the relationships are realistically portrayed. Jenni Ogden's meticulous research brings the setting and characters vibrantly to life. Anna's journey is quite fascinating and it is immensely gratifying seeing the lasting effects wrought by her experiences on Turtle Island. I highly recommend this heartwarming novel to readers of contemporary women's fiction.
    • 5/5
      A Drop in the Ocean by Jenni Ogden; (5*)Imagine having the opportunity to move into a rustic cabin on a remote tropical island inhabited by seabirds, turtles and very few people. The only access by boat and that boat only comes in every two weeks. With the loss of her research grant, that is exactly where Anna Fergusson ended up. This story is set in a wonderful location included a very eclectic mix of characters.I immediately fell in love with this story and was sad to come to it's end. This was a thought provoking read for me. Covering, as it did, the subjects of Huntington’s disease and the conservation of turtles, both of which are expanded upon in the facts section after the novel, which I appreciated so much.For me, this was one of those rare novels that sent me immediately to the encyclopedias and the web for further reading on Huntington's Disease and also to learn more about these particular sea turtles, their habits and habitats. Oh and yes, there is also a bit of the romance but even more, stories about friendships formed and and grown. I loved this book and would like to find more like it.
    • 5/5
      After losing her grant money for research into Huntington’s disease, Anna gets a temporary job on a small isolated island on Australia’s Great Barrier Reef. The island is not only home to a tight-knit but welcoming human community but it also the nesting ground of sea turtles and birds. She has barely settled into island life when she is recruited by Tom to help with his research and tagging of nesting turtles. Soon their relationship develops beyond working and friendship but Tom makes it clear that, for reasons he will not give, it can never be anything more. A Drop in the Ocean by Jenni Ogden could be classified as a romance but, admittedly, I am not a fan of romance novels so I figure I’ll let others critique that aspect of the novel with just a couple of exceptions. It shakes up some of the stereotypes about romance – strong women can have satisfying relationships and even marriages with younger men and older women can experiment with lesbianism or be lesbians, or they can live perfectly satisfying lives without a partner, that the only thing wrong with these things is the negative judgments of others. I will also say that Ogden handled the ending perfectly and realistically – it may not be the ending many people will want but any other ending would have been a cheat.But beyond the romance there is so much else to like about this novel and I enjoyed it immensely. Most of the story takes place on isolated islands both in Australia and in Great Britain and her descriptions of the flora and fauna are breathtaking. I dare anyone to read them without developing a strong wanderlust. It is also about living a fulfilling life away from the hustle and bustle, about appreciating the beauty and complexity of nature, about the joy and contentment that can come from friendships, and the ways that these things can enrich our lives. It is also about how we view our parents through the eyes of childhood, how, too often, these childish perceptions are wrong and, worse, how they can rob us of truly knowing them as independent people with lives that not only are separate from ours but rich and interesting. And it is about the devastation of diseases like Huntington’s and how important research is as well as how politics and religion can too often stand in the way of finding a cure. Ogden examines the symptoms and implications of the disease, how it affects not only the sufferers but their families, and others and she does it with a great deal of empathy and knowledge (she is a Neuropsychologist) but with realism as well. It was a disease I knew little about before but I have seen the devastation of Parkinson’s and much of her descriptions moved me to tears. Oddly, I would recommend this book not necessarily to people who like romances but to people who love to read and learn about new and exciting things. I came away from this book with a desire to travel to more remote areas, to learn more about turtles and their nesting habits and about Huntington’s. At the end of the book, Ogden provides more information and makes suggestions about other places to look if you are interested. For the curious, this is one very enjoyable read.