My family spent a lot of time in the waters of Myrtle Beach. I loved science, and was curious about the ocean beyond a food source, and I would ask my family questions that they couldn’t always answer. So my parents sent me to MarineQuest, a five-day, sleep-away science camp. Once I realized that I could do this as a career—get paid to play in the ocean with fish everyday—I applied to all the marine biology schools.
― Jasmin Graham, Interview, Sarasota Magazine
What booksellers are saying about Sharks Don’t Sink
- A cautionary tale with a sense of hope, Graham’s memoir details her struggles with academia and her successes as a mentor to a new generation of scientists. Her stories of the pressures of being black and female in a male dominated field echo those of other recent memoirs. Her response was to co-found an advocacy group and create learning opportunities. Told with humor and clarity, this is a good addition to women in science shelves.
― Jan Blodgett, Main Street Books, Davidson, North Carolina | BUY
- Jasmin Graham’s story is one of hardship, struggle, triumph, and most importantly, power. Each chapter introduced a new notion. A new understanding. A new feeling. And after finishing this book, I was left with such hope that I couldn’t help but smile. The energy Graham brings to her field of shark science is something that traditional academia has been sorely lacking. And they will continue to miss out on this Rogue Scientist as she stands in defiance of the status quo.
― Jamie Kovacs, Flyleaf Books, Chapel Hill, North Carolina | BUY
- A fascinating and relatable memoir about life as a shark scientist. Really great at making the science accessible and connecting her life story to the work.
― Nicole Tortoriello, Old Town Books, Alexandria, Virginia | BUY
About Jasmin Graham
Jasmin Graham is a marine biologist in the field of elasmobranch ecology and evolution, currently specializing in smalltooth sawfish and hammerhead sharks. She is the co-founder of Minorities in Shark Sciences (MISS), an organization providing support for women of color in the field of shark biology and ecology, in order to foster greater diversity in marine science. She is a recipient of the WWF Conservation Leadership Award, the Safina Launchpad Center Fellowship, and a National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowship.
