To my great delight, I opened my mailbox last week to find a copy of Life on the Edge: Portraits of Underwater Creatures from the Pacific Northwest. Having edited the text that accompanies Khya’s luminous undersea photos, I couldn’t wait to open the printed book.

Last winter, during our first conversation, Khya told me that when she started diving over ten years ago, she thought, “This is it, I’m home.” These days, she spends much of her life on or in the waters around BC’s central coast and Haida Gwaii, in what she calls “the last remnants of relative wilderness on the planet.” She lives on and dives off Gnoses, the sailboat she shares with her partner, Ralph Nelson.

When I first saw Khya’s images, I was not prepared for the strange beauty of the sea stars, sponges, corals, anemones, and other creatures she has patiently captured in pixels. I’d never even heard of a nudibranch (nor has spell check)! 

I found just enough information in the captions to orient me and make me want to learn more. Who knew there was so much life going on beneath the ocean’s surface? 

And, since we all see through the filter of our own passions, I’ll confess that my obsession with textile design makes me marvel that such tiny organisms on the dark ocean floor are dressed so extravagantly. Striking patterns and colourways in nearly every photo! 

This little book has given me a more personal connection with the ocean. I take notice now when I hear related news like that of the discoveries made by a recent joint expedition with Fisheries and Oceans Canada in which remotely operated vehicles carried undersea cameras among previously unexplored seamounts near Haida Gwaii, revealing, and hopefully helping to conserve, a biological “wonderland” of sea life, some of which had never before been seen. 

So, a huge congratulations to Khya on the publication of her lovely book. Thanks for opening this window into the ocean’s depths — and for bringing me along for part of the adventure! 

And kudos as well to First Choice Books for their collaboration with Khya on the book’s design and printing.

You can purchase Life on the Edge directly from Khya. She hopes to be offering it on Amazon soon.