The bestselling Pat Conroy memoir

The moving story of a young teacher's experience on an island forgotten by the world

Though the children of Yamacraw Island live less than two miles from the coast of South Carolina, they can't name the president or the ocean that surrounds them. Many can't sign their names. Most can't read or write—they're unable to reach their potential to grow and learn because they have been failed by their school district and handicapped by their poverty and isolation. But with the arrival of an eager young teacher, their prospects begin to brighten.

Based on Pat Conroy's experiences teaching elementary school for a year on South Carolina's Daufuskie Island, The Water Is Wide is a revealing portrait of the inequalities of the American education system and a powerful story of the group of children that changed one man's life forever.