Calling all lovers of true tales about the sea! This week I'm talking with Eric J. Dolin, bestselling author of numerous books that explore some aspect of American history, generally as it relates to the sea. His latest book is "Left for Dead: Shipwreck, Treachery, and Survival at the Edge of the World." Eric has a really interesting through line that started with him studying to be a marine biologist, then morphed into studying environmental policy, and includes a big list of cool, interesting jobs, including curatorial assistant in the mollusk department at Harvard's Museum of Comparative Zoology.
We covered:
- Eric's winding path to writing, which started with wanting to be Jacques Costeau as a kid, wended through getting three degrees in marine biology, and ended with him working in government jobs (managing a fishery, for example) while saving up to make the leap to writing full-time
- How winning awards can keep you going, even when you're not selling as many books as you'd like
- HOT TIP: Eric's new book, "Left for Dead," would make a great gift for anyone in your life who lives a good maritime yarn (like, say, my Dad)
- How "people are overly impressed with writers", and that recognition can also keep you going
- The skills he developed as a student that help him write books
- How researching his current book generally leads to the idea for his next book
- The secret cove in Marblehead, Mass. where Eric gets his reading done during the summer
- How reading books from the 1800s and early 1900s (as part of his research) changes his language
For full show notes with links to everything we discuss, plus bonus photos!, visit katehanley.substack.com.
Thank you for listening!
And thanks to this week’s sponsor, Aqua Tru. Visit aquatru.com and use code KATE to save 20% off a great countertop reverse osmosis water filter that I have been using and loving for years now. Comes with a 1-year warranty and a 30-day money back guarantee.

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