A pioneering marine biologist takes us down into the deep ocean to understand bioluminescence the language of light that helps life communicate in the darkness and what it tells us about the future of life on Earth in this thrilling blend of hard science and high adventure The New York Times Book Review . Named One Of The Best Books Of The Year By Booklist, Edith Widder's story is one of hardscrabble optimism, two-fisted exploration, and groundbreaking research. She's done things I dream of doing. James Cameron Edith Widder's childhood dream of becoming a marine biologist was almost derailed in college, when complications from a surgery gone wrong caused temporary blindness. A new reality of shifting shadows drew her fascination to the power of light as well as the importance of optimism. As her vision cleared, Widder found the intersection of her two passions in oceanic bioluminescence, a little-explored scientific field within Earth's last great unknown frontier- the deep ocean. With little promise of funding or employment, she leaped at the first opportunity to train as a submersible pilot and dove into the darkness. Widder's first journey into the deep ocean, in a diving suit that resembled a suit of armor, took her to a depth of eight hundred feet.