Carry the Ocean

The Roosevelt, Book 1

By: Heidi Cullinan

Narrated by: Iggy Toma

Normal is just a setting on the dryer.

High school graduate Jeremey Samson is looking forward to burying his head under the covers and sleeping until it's time to leave for college. Then a tornado named Emmet Washington enters his life. The young man with a double major in math and computer science is handsome, forward, wicked smart, interested in dating Jeremey - and he has autism.

But Jeremey doesn't judge him for that. He's too busy judging himself, as are his parents, who don't believe in things like clinical depression. When Jeremey's untreated illness reaches a critical breaking point, Emmet is the white knight who rescues him and brings him along as a roommate to The Roosevelt, a quirky new assisted living facility.

As Jeremey and Emmet find their feet at The Roosevelt, they begin to believe they can be loved for the men they are beyond their disabilities. But before they can trust enough to fall head over heels, they must trust their own convictions that friendship is a healing force and love can overcome any obstacle.

©2017 Heidi Cullinan (P)2017 Heidi Cullinan

Heidi Cullinan + Iggy Toma = Excellence !!!

I knew from Amazon reviews this would differ from what I think of as a Heidi Cullinan story and still be Amazing!

Loving & Living w/ your quirks & complications and finding the people to help you flourish is pure Heidi. What's different is how little sex/sexuality is the focus of that process here. There is a dark edge in Special Delivery / Love Lessons series that has been replaced w/ a sweetness reminding me of TJ Klune's Bear, Otter & Kid.

In other words, this is a REALLY good book!

As Heidi started exploring w/ "Baz" in Love Lessons, these characters have different mental/physical complications making them hypersensitive and unable to react the way people w/ average sensitivity do. Heidi manages to get across that people under umbrella terms like Autism Spectrum, Depression/Anxiety & Quadriplegia vary not only from person to person, but within each individual's experience over time. She has written very realistic portrayals of these experiences and the benefits/detriments of the visibility/invisibility of the problems involved. She gets across the depths of their difficulties, joys of love without angst & wallowing.

Carry the Ocean is brilliant and memorable, a surprisingly enjoyable book, definitely worth reading! The abundance of characters and media are handled Beautifully by Iggy Toma.

Like Heidi's Love Lessons series, this is a New Adult book.
Also, while her books often head past R into NC17, this just barely escapes PG13.
It gracefully achieves 5 stars anyway.

One of my all time FAVORITES - excellent narration

I can’t believe I never formally reviewed this book! It’s literally on my top 10 of favorite MM books EVER!

I’m not going to “’recap”- there are lots of reviews out there that can do that for you.

What I will do is tell you all the wonderful feelings this story gives me.

1) Hope. There are SO MANY issues touched upon in this story from Autism awareness and Depression awareness to the rights of differently abled people and more. What I loved about this is that both POV are given and we get a glimpse in the heads of both guys. (Which is amazing because they are so totally different and the “voices” are so distinct, the author does an amazing job with this aspect.) However, in their own ways both boys start with a “need” and a want or desire (even if Jeremey didn’t have it vocalized at the time accurately) and this book gives them and us hope that things which might seem insurmountable are possible. Maybe even probable given enough faith.
2) Love. These two love each other SOOO much and they also find love in their friends and families that is just as glorious.
3) Humor. Emmet is one of my all time favorite characters. He’s hysterical! He’s flat and direct and subtle and blunt and I adore him and the voice he gives to people who are not on the “mean”.
4) Respect. I respect all the people mentioned in the story and in the story notes that live lives differently and have the courage to write about their experiences and share them with the world – including the author who took such obvious painstaking care in researching this story and making it feel authentic. I also applaud her for being willing to give these guys not only a romance but a sexual relationship and her ease with making it feel both authentic and real and romantic at the same time.
5) Awe. I’m in awe of all that these guys (and people like them) have to overcome and do so with such grace. Stories like this both serve to remind me that my troubles are neither the worst nor the easiest and that everyone has their own “issues” to overcome.
6) Sadness. Probably more so in book two, but there are elements in book one that showcase the small-mindness of people in power who seek to put people in boxes where they can be forgotten or made to feel less than. I wish our world wasn’t like that, but it is and this story shows us the results of that mind set.
7) A desire to live in Iowa. ;) Well maybe not. I have relatives in Iowa and none of them are nearly as cool as those described in this story, but I do feel that there are some places in Iowa that seem to have it figured out in a way that even places as “progressive” as my city of Portland, OR have NOT figured out. I hope they can stand as a model and a blueprint for more and more progressive thinking around the country/world.


I have read this book and now it’s sequel many times and I was literally jumping for joy when I saw the audiobook was out and that Iggy Toma was the narrator. He’s AMAZING. I think he managed to portray Emmet’s flat tones perfectly and yet he absolutely shines when he voices Jeremey’s dark moments. He gives everyone the voice that I had “pictured” in my head (is there a word for imagining a sound in your head… heard in my head?) Anyway, I loved his narration and thought it was just as magical as the story deserved.

I cannot recommend this book enough. If you’re a fan of Ethan , Who Loved Carter by Ryan Loveless or Speechless by Kim Fielding I think you’ll love this.


6 of 5 stars!

Wow. Disability enabled romance

Lot of good representation going on. Likeable characters that were realistic & relatable. Well, relatable to me. Highly recommended.

My grandmother, as a teen, taught herself rules and scripts for how to look & behave in public. She passed. We only figured out she was on the spectrum because she counted. She counted everything. When she remarried in her 80s, she married a man who delighted in her counting. “How many cars today?” (She counted cars on the main road while having her coffee.) “218 going east & 178 going west.” “Well, isn’t that fine!”. He also didn’t mind losing to her at cards. They were very happy together. This book reminded me of their happiness.

The main characters, Emmet & Jeremey, had realistic, debilitating mental/sensory issues, but strove to live independently, worked well together and even made friends. Not despite their deviation from the norm, but because their deviations made them compatible & comfortable for each other. Their sex life was always made important, which, romance, duh, but critical for characters who struggled to be seen as competent adults who also do normal things like have sex with their boyfriends.

There is also a lot of therapy going on. (I could only wish all therapy was that caring and effective. There is reference to bad therapy but the story doesn’t dwell there.) I found it compelling and necessary to the story rather than preachy. I liked how the need for accommodations is normalized and even made enjoyable like custom fonts, background music, & snotty stickers. Most of the secondary characters model accepting & loving behavior.

The narrator did a really good job of reducing inflection on Emmet’s voice. I enjoyed listening to it and the story as a whole. Might be my favorite thing he’s narrated.

AMAZING BOOK

this was an awesome story and Iggy Toma did an
excellant job narrating.. I cant wait to read book 2.
it was so insightful, funny heartwarming and just a
great story all round.

'A-' rating...

My Review:
Overall: 4.25
Performance: 4.75
Story: 4.25

Wow, talk about an unexpected story. I honestly wouldn't have expected to enjoy a story written about two characters like Emmet and Jeremey. They are most definitely the most unlikely heroes, but they were wonderful. The story was wonderful. The romance was wonderful. The story line is unexpected, but it was fabulous. Heidi Cullinan (the author) and Iggy Toma (the narrator) both did a phenomenal job with the book. BUT huge, HUGE kudos to Heidi Cullinan for writing such a wonderful, heartwarming, eye-opening story.

Both Emmet and Jeremey have issues holding them back in life. Emmet is incredibly intelligent, but he's also autistic, which makes it very difficult to interact in the world. Jeremey has crippling anxiety and depression, which make it difficult for him to interact in the world. But together, they work. Emmet sees Jeremey and is so open and honest that it makes it easier for Jeremey to be with him.

They definitely don't have an easy life, but they work together. Their commitment to one another works and makes for a great read...as they transverse some huge obstacles to being together. Gah, and those obstacles are not small. I hated Jeremey's family and the way they make his life so much worse. After every interaction, my heart just hurts for him. He's such a good guy.

Note: Iggy Toma was an INCREDIBLE narrator. OMG, so much love for his narration on this novel. It couldn't have been easy and he ROCKED it! I highly recommend it...and most definitely in audio!

LOVED IT!!

Heidi Cullinan and Iggy Toma can do no wrong together! I listened to the Love Lessons series and have been hooked ever since. I didn't want this book to end!

the absolute best written and performed book

What made the experience of listening to Carry the Ocean the most enjoyable?

This book opened my eyes to the world of Autism like I could never have predicted. The story was so well written and the performance by Iggy Toma had such sincerity it truly touched my heart.

What was one of the most memorable moments of Carry the Ocean?

They way that Emmet cared for Jeremy was so real and so pure.

Have you listened to any of Iggy Toma’s other performances before? How does this one compare?

Iggy is the best. I search for books performed by him even before I search for authors.

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

I dont like to listen to books in all one sitting. I like them to last.

wow !

It's review time 🎧
Carry the ocean by Heidi Cullinan
Narrator Iggy Toma

Narrator score🎧 ; I was in absolute Awe!!!!! I just can't describe enough how I loved that preference, he just did an outstanding job with this incredible book.

Level of steam🔥: this book, omg this book. You have some level of steam in here, but not as we are use to. I really don't want to explain because it would probably ruin the journey of this book.

Level of anxiety and sadness😱😢: well, yes. You have a lot of sad moments in here but I can't say I was crying. (and I'm a crybaby after all) but it doesn't make the book any easier to get, we have a 18 years old mc with extremely severe depression and a brilliant 19 years old with an autism with high communication skills. This book isn't an easy book. But it will make you smile laugh and feel a lot.

The book itself📖: wow this book made me feel, and it hit me very close to home. It's not a secret that I have a rare disease that keeps me on a wheelchair and it's not a secret that I suffer from depression. And it's not a secret that I worked with children with autism as well.
And what can I say? I just can say omg I'm so grateful that this book exists! The book was absolutely amazing! The way it was written was just undescribable to me. It was real and full of life difficulties, and a day by day kind of book. I can speak about what I heard in this book but it really will ruin the incredible roller coaster and I don't want to do it.
But I have to write the triggers in the book.
One of the main characters is suffering from a very complex depression and we have a lot of dark triggers in here about his point of view of his world and the world around him. Please notice that the book is incredible but it's ok to stop it If your feelings bad about it. Your mental health is the most important thing.

Amazing

This was perfect! I loved every minute of it! It's a beautiful love story!

Such a heart-warming, beautifully written story

Thank you so much to Heidi Cullinan for writing this book and Iggy Toma for the narration that brought these characters to life! I knew from the minute I started listening to the first chapter that I was going to love this series so much.

It's close to my heart because I also live with a permanent disability, cerebral palsy, which I have to learn to manage and adapt to my surroundings every day. Even though Emmet has autism and Jeremey struugles with severe depression, I relate to the types of daily challenges they face. I also have a strong desire to be as independent as possible and one day be in a romantic relationship.

I appreciate that Heidi writes so kindly and thoughtfully about Emmet and Jeremey. She makes a point of saying that they're normal but differently-abled people. I also love how descriptive she is about their inner thoughts so I can understand a bit more about these mental disorders, even though they are different for each person. I especially enjoy the logical way Emmet mind works and that he finds no problem with speaking so matter-of-factly to everyone. It's very funny sometimes while still being a great learning experience; this serves to bring levity into a story about such a serious and important topic.

The Roosevelt series will always be dear to me and forever one of my favorites. Thank you Audible for introducing me to this book! I can't wait to listen to the sequel!