Why Fish Don't Exist: A Story of Loss, Love, and the Hidden Order of Life

“A great escape… [and] an extended reflection on how to weather the storm during trying times.” – Outside “Completely entrancing.” – O, The Oprah Magazine“I want to live at this book’s address: the intersection of history and biology and wonder and failure and sheer human stubbornness. What a sumptuous, surprising, dark delight.” – Carmen Maria Machado, author of Her Body and Other Parties“Lulu Miller moves gracefully between reporting and meditation, big questions and small moments. This book is a magical hybrid of science, portraiture, and memoir – and a delight to read.” – Susan Orlean, New York Times bestselling author of The Library Book“Riveting and rollicking… total magic.” – Garden & Gun“Riveting. Surprising. Shocking, even! Why Fish Don’t Exist begins with a mesmerizing account of the life of distinguished biologist David Starr Jordan–and then, quite unexpectedly, turns into so much more. Narrated in Lulu Miller’s intimate, quirky voice, this is a story of science and struggle, of heartbreak and chaos. This book will capture your heart, seize your imagination, smash your preconceptions, and rock your world.” – Sy Montgomery, New York Times bestselling author of The Soul of an Octopus “Some years back, Lulu Miller disappeared down a very strange rabbit hole that led her to places neither she nor you would ever be able to anticipate. I highly recommend you follow her down the hole, because of her singular and gigantic gifts as a writer and storyteller, but also because of what’s down there: love, chaos, strychnine, a gun, dangerous delusions, heroic dandelions, a cow, a snorkel mask through which grander truths are revealed… This book is perfect, just perfect. It’s both lyrical and learned, personal and political, small and huge, quirky and profound.” – Mary Roach, New York Times bestselling author of Stiff“Stunning and brilliant and completely un-sum-up-able… I love this book so much!” – John Green, New York Times bestselling author of Turtles All the Way Down“Unconventional… What initially seems like an homage to an indomitable scientist [turns] into a philosophical tale about the limitations of tidy narratives and the dangers of unyielding belief.” – Undark “What a delightful book… Ms. Miller [spins] a tale so seductive that I read her book in one sitting.” – The Wall Street Journal

Lulu Miller is the cohost of Radiolab, cofounder of NPR’s Invisibilia, and a Peabody Award-winning science journalist. Her writing has been published in The New Yorker, VQR, Orion, Electric Literature, Catapult, and beyond. Her favorite spot on earth is Humpback Rocks.