Into the Planet

My Life as a Cave Diver

By: Jill Heinerth

Narrated by: Jill Heinerth

From one of the world’s most renowned cave divers, a firsthand account of exploring the earth’s final frontier: the hidden depths of our oceans and the sunken caves inside our planet

More people have died exploring underwater caves than climbing Mount Everest, and we know more about deep space than we do about the depths of our oceans. From one of the top cave divers working today—and one of the very few women in her field—Into the Planet blends science, adventure, and memoir to bring readers face-to-face with the terror and beauty of earth’s remaining unknowns and the extremes of human capability.

Jill Heinerth—the first person in history to dive deep into an Antarctic iceberg and leader of a team that discovered the ancient watery remains of Mayan civilizations—has descended farther into the inner depths of our planet than any other woman. She takes us into the harrowing split-second decisions that determine whether a diver makes it back to safety, the prejudices that prevent women from pursuing careers underwater, and her endeavor to recover a fallen friend’s body from the confines of a cave. But there’s beauty beyond the danger of diving, and while Heinerth swims beneath our feet in the lifeblood of our planet, she works with biologists discovering new species, physicists tracking climate change, and hydrogeologists examining our finite freshwater reserves.

Written with hair-raising intensity, Into the Planet is the first book to deliver an intimate account of cave diving, transporting readers deep into inner space, where fear must be reconciled and a mission’s success balances between knowing one’s limits and pushing the envelope of human endurance.

Thrilling

Loved Jill’s voice as she narrated her own story - at times thrilling, other times heartbreaking. What a wonderful life, full of adventure and passion - a fantastic journey which most of us will never take, but one which we can regardless enjoy vicariously through her book!!

Well written and Truly inspiring!

Jill writes about her life and her adventures as an explorer in a way that inspires you to forget about your mundane day job and dream about finding your own destiny as an explorer.

Incredible stories and Inspirational!

As a fellow female adventure lover, books like this are a treasure. Unfortunately they are few and hard to find. please write more, Jill!

A Wild and Lovely Submersion

Jill Heinerth delivers what she has promised at the beginning of her story—a journey into the gorgeous depths of underwater caves which filled me with absolute wonder and respect for this brave and unconventional woman. This is an honest and beautiful narrative about Heinerth’s life so far. It’s an amazing dive and I felt myself gasping for air and hoping for her safety, survival and happiness. Well done!

True adventure

Love when the author has the “right stuff” to read their book to me! Jill is good at it, never monotonous, bringing her own zest to my ears.

A rescue diver myself, I resonated to her vivid portraits. I remember the fears but she communicated them far better than I thought possible.

I also appreciated her exposing the personal side. We are all humans, too often books skip the failures and relationship problems that are always there. Brave heart, friend of the planet, I hope to hear you speak in person someday.