New Release:
November 4th, 2025
WHAT AUTHORS AND CRITICS SAY
Deeper than the Ocean: "Two women and two islands are masterfully intertwined in this poignant story filled with family memories, sensitivity, and tenderness. A feat of storytelling that must not be missed."
— María Dueñas, New York Times bestselling author of The Time in Between
WHAT AUTHORS AND CRITICS SAY
Deeper than the Ocean: "Author Mirta Ojito explores the real-life tragic sinking of the steamship Valbanera, which went down off the coast of Key West during a hurricane in 1919, killing all 488 people aboard. A heartfelt tale of family secrets, impossible choices, and the search for one's true identity."
— Kristin Harmel, New York Times bestselling author
WHAT AUTHORS AND CRITICS SAY
Deeper than the Ocean: "With her powerful narrative, Ojito takes you by the hand from the United States to the Canary Islands, from the Canary Islands to Cuba, and from Cuba back to the states in a novel about painful losses and sweet discoveries. A renowned journalist who joyfully enters the world of fiction in a masterful way."
— Armando Lucas Correa, international bestseller author of The German Girl
WHAT AUTHORS AND CRITICS SAY
Deeper than the Ocean: "What we don’t know about our ancestors resonates. Inherited trauma is real. So is enduring love. We don’t have to know what happened to experience the choices they made, but when we get a glimpse of their lives, our present looks different. In this generous, tender novel, we learn it takes courage to revisit our personal history to find healing."
— Esmeralda Santiago, author of When I Was Puerto Rican and Las Madres
WHAT AUTHORS AND CRITICS SAY
Deeper than the Ocean: "Is a moving, sweeping tale about survival and grief, love and longing, centered on two women, generations apart, who grapple with the trauma of the past as they search for healing. In sensitive, intimate prose, Mirta Ojito captures the inescapable legacy of secrets and how familial bonds, across time, leave an imprint in our hearts’ deepest crevices."
— Roxanne Veletzos, bestselling author of The Girl They Left Behind
Deeper than the Ocean
HISTORICAL NOVEL
A moving multi-generational historical novel about the enduring power of a mother’s love, the ripple effect of secrets, and the strength of family bonds from Pulitzer Prize–winning journalist Mirta Ojito
What is the book about?
One hundred years after the shipwreck of the Valbanera, known to history as the “poor man’s Titanic,” Mara Denis gets an assignment to report on the Canary Islands, where, she has been told, her ancestors lived before they moved to Cuba.
Unexpectedly, she discovers that the grandmother her mother cherished was listed among the dead of the Valbanera, years before Mara’s mother was even born.
This fateful twist changes everything Mara thought she knew about her family and herself, and sends her on a quest to find the truth about her family. If her great-grandmother is a ghost, who is she and where did she come from? In spare, beautiful writing and a dual narrative, the author transports the reader to the Canary Islands and Cuba in the early part of the twentieth century and New York and Key West in the present. This epic tale of a young woman’s intense passion for her beloved as well as the redeeming power of family secrets at last uncovered will leave readers wanting more when they reach the last page.
Book Details
Format: Hardcover
Editorial: Union Square & Co.
Release: November 4th, 2025
ISBN: 9781454961901
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