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Beneath the Surface: Exploring Breath, Body, and the Wild Within is an exploration of the deep, both within the ocean and within the self. Through the lens of freediving, wilderness, and personal reflection, this book delves into the transformative power of breath, the relationship between human beings and the natural world, and the way immersion in the wild can shape identity, healing, and survival.

Born on a remote Alaskan island, raised in the forests and mountains of the Pacific Northwest, and drawn to the ocean as both sanctuary and teacher, I have spent my life seeking connection through movement, climbing peaks, exploring deep waters, and existing in the spaces where land and sea meet. But when my body changed, and the physical freedom I had always known was no longer a given, I was forced to reconsider what it means to belong.

This book is not just about freediving, it is about survival in all its forms. It is about the lessons found in deep, quiet places, the balance between control and surrender, and the way nature holds us even when we feel untethered. It is a meditation on conservation, on the creatures that share this planet with us, and on the responsibility we carry to protect them.

Accompanying the text are photographs that serve as both documentation and expression, moments of immersion captured in light and shadow, images that reflect the stillness, movement, and vastness of the ocean and wild places. The interplay of words and images offers a layered experience, allowing readers to not only read about the ocean’s depths but to feel them.

At its heart, Beneath the Surface asks what it means to exist in the space between inhale and exhale, between movement and stillness, between past and future. It invites the reader to reconsider their own connection to the wild, to ask where they feel most alive, where they feel most at home, and how, in exploring nature, they might also find themselves.

How to Use This Book

This book is not meant to be rushed.

Beneath the Surface is a journey, through story, image, memory, and reflection. It is a conversation between the wild world and the internal one, between movement and stillness, between the seen and the felt. You are not required to be a freediver, a photographer, or even someone who spends time in wilderness to find your place here. What matters is your willingness to slow down, to notice, and to ask questions, not just of the book, but of yourself.

Each section is grounded in a theme and paired with a creative natural element, Mystery, Stillness, Gravity, Belonging, Light, and more. You’ll find poetic narrative drawn from my years in the ocean and mountains, alongside over 50 fine art photography images that reflects both outer and inner landscapes. Interwoven with these are breath prompts, creative exercises, and reflective questions to help you explore your own connection to place, presence, and perception.

You can read the book straight through, or return to different sections when a particular theme calls to you. The exercises are invitations, not assignments. There is no right way to do them. You may find yourself writing, walking, photographing, sitting in silence, or simply remembering. Take what resonates. Leave what doesn’t. Return later if you like.

This book is not about instruction, it’s about immersion.

You are invited to engage slowly, openly, and with reverence.

This is not just a book to be read.
It is a space to enter.
A breath to hold.
A place to begin again.