The Pelican Tide, by Sharon J. Wishnow

Available now in Paperback, Hardcover, eBook and Audio

In Sharon J. Wishnow’s debut novel, THE PELICAN TIDE, the reader is taken back to 2010 and the Deepwater Horizon oil spill on the Louisiana coast. The Babineaux family- chef Josie, oil rig worker Brian, two children, and a pelican-swims against the tide of personal and financial stress which exists alongside the environmental damage plaguing the coast. Themes of overcoming fear, admitting one’s mistakes, and offering compassion permeate the novel. The story is made real through the use of sensory detail and a keen understanding of the human heart. Kudos to Ms. Wishnow for her careful research and ability to focus upon the true cost of our world’s lust for oil.

THE PELICAN TIDE comes highly recommended for those seeking a sensitive portrayal of the effects of environmental destruction on real families and communities. Anyone who enjoys a tightly constructed, well-plotted novel featuring the inner workings of a working-class family will love this book. Heartwarming and filled with joy and sorrow in equal measure, THE PELICAN TIDE is a winner!

A Snippet

Grand Isle, Louisiana
Sunday, April 18, 2010
2:00 p.m.

Chef Josie Babineaux shook a bowl of flour over hot oil in her grandmother’s cast-iron roux pot. The flour sizzled as it made contact, and tiny bubbles danced around the edges, releasing its nutty toasted-bread essence. With a practiced hand, she mixed the flour with her roux paddle like she was on a mission, and she was.

In two hours, a food critic and a photographer from Vacation Ventures were interviewing her, the spice queen of the bayou, for the magazine’s cover story. At least that’s what the editor had crowned her last month, when she told Josie they’d selected Odeal’s as the 2010 Island Restaurant of the Year. This wasn’t the first accolade that her family’s restaurant had earned over the past decade. Josie proudly displayed the small write-ups in Zagat, Southern Living, and Gourmet as if she had won a Michelin Star.

Vacation Ventures’ glossy pages, prestige, and dedicated readers were the miracle Josie needed. The international publicity, combined with thefull calendar of fishing rodeos and events planned for Grand Isle, would fill the restaurant, making this tourist season the turning point to pull her out of the financial death spiral her husband, Brian, had plunged the family into. But she had no time today to worry about Brian. He was six months in her rearview mirror.

Today, her passion for feeding people mattered most. She’d cook off-menu anytime someone in their tiny Grand Isle community needed a special dish to brighten their day. Food was Josie’s love language. She smashed a lump of stubborn flour, splashing the thickening roux onto her forearm. “Ouch.” She shook her arm from the sting. Roux was weaponized wheat.

A firm, warm hand landed on her shoulder and gently pulled her back. “Hey, hon. We have a gallon of roux in the refrigerator. More than enough for today and tomorrow,” Maisy Phillips said. As Josie’s sous-chef, Maisy was a force in and out of the kitchen, towering over her at five foot ten. The long butcher’s aprons the kitchen staff wore stopped at her knees. She styled her hair in waist- length braids with gold-tone braid rings, pulled back while she cooked. “You’re right. But . . . it’s almost done.” Josie switched the paddle between hands and scraped the edges of the pot. No one remembered where the cast-iron pot came from. It’d been there as long as they could remember. The heavy metal was coal black from use and looked like a cross between a witch’s cauldron and something you’d hang from a campfire spit.She surveyed her busy kitchen. Linh Nguyen stood on a stool to reach her prep counter. Her white-haired head bent over a tray of baby vegetables as her nimble fingers turned each one into an edible masterpiece. Josie had asked her now retired friend to come help prepare for today.

Josie’s son, Toby, hefted a blue bucket of ice, with a mound of lumpy oysters threatening to spill over. The kitchen aprons, too short on Maisy, used to sweep the floor on his eleven-year-old body. But not anymore. He had shot up like a stalk of okra since winter. The only sweep left was his dark hair hovering over his brown eyes. He needed a haircut. A chore for Brian this weekend. He should at least be able to manage that.

Without looking away from the roux, she said, “Hey, cher, where’s your mesh glove?”

“I’m not a baby.”

Toby crossed his arms over his puffed-out chest, contradicting his words.

Josie flicked off the gas under her roux, held her left hand an inch from his nose, and lowered her voice. “I was twelve when I got this scar from an oyster knife.” I damn near lost the use of my hand. He rolled his eyes. “You’ve told me like a million times.”

She rested her hand on his head. “Be grateful I don’t roll your whole body in stainless steel mesh.”

“Haul that bucket to the prep sink. I’ll supervise,” Maisy said.

“I can shuck oysters,” Toby grumbled. “All new chefs are supervised in the kitchen. You’re fast with that blade, even with the glove, but I’m not ready to leave you alone either.”

Toby softened under Maisy’s words. “I guess.”

Linh chuckled. She had rocked Josie’s kids to sleep when they were babies. Maisy stood over Josie with her fists resting on her hips.

“What?” Josie asked.

She put her hands on Josie’s shoulders and spun her toward the door. “Take a minute, out there.” She pointed. Then, in a stage whisper, added, “Before someone gets ugly.” That was Maisy’s not-too-subtle reminder that she needed to pull herself together.

“Right.” Josie wiped her hands on a kitchen towel. She had skipped her morning beach run, and now her body was overcharged like a lightning bolt seeking a path to ground. “The kitchen’s yours.”

Talk a Little, Talk a Lot

All great reads, like this one, have themes or ideas, or just hints, for discussion topics in your book club. Here are a few ideas for you:

Other Topics and Titles You Might Enjoy

Africa Alcoholism Anthology Art Atlanta Bicentennial Birds Book Banning Book clubs Brooklyn Chronic illness Early 1900s Ecology Family Relationships Faraway Places Historical Mystery Japanese Internment Jazz Legends Magic Medieval Mexico Midlife Native Americans Peace Corps Poetry Prostitution Scotland Siblings True Crime Women Sleuths Writers/Poets

Or choose one of these topics:

Africa Alcoholism Anthology Art Atlanta Bicentennial Birds Book Banning Book clubs Brooklyn Chronic illness Early 1900s Ecology Family Relationships Faraway Places Historical Mystery Japanese Internment Jazz Legends Magic Medieval Mexico Midlife Native Americans Peace Corps Poetry Prostitution Scotland Siblings True Crime Women Sleuths Writers/Poets