How Far the Light Reaches: A Life in Ten Sea Creatures

by Sabrina Imbler

I was writing my senior thesis about whales, a sprawling and unfocused project that was more concerned with describing whales—living, eating, breathing, beaching, dying, and dead—than saying anything about them.

The hunt can be unending: African wild dogs tailing a gazelle with no particular speed or strength, just patience as they wait for the creature to tire.

I want to know what words they use to identify themselves. I want to know how close or distanced they feel to their own whiteness. I want to ask them the questions I don’t want strangers to ask me. In other words, I am also the asshat.