Lopez Island author uses novel approach to advocate for orcas

Gene Helfman has a whale of a story to tell.

It is one the Lopez Island author is literally putting into the hands of the public – especially those concerned with the plight of threatened Southern Resident orcas. His novel, “Beyond the Human Realm,” follows the life of, Makai, a captive male orca saved from euthanasia and released into the wild. Makai then encounters whales and people instrumental in helping him gain acceptance into orca society.

“I think the book will be of interest to your readership because of the intense local, regional and global interest in the endangered Southern Resident killer whales,” Helfman, long engaged in fish conservation, told the Weekly News recently.

Described as an eco-thriller and animal story for adults, “Beyond the Human Realm” has received strong reviews on Amazon and a Five Star Best Book rating from Chanticleer International Reviews. It is billed as an account of love, loss and redemption – among whales.

Proceeds from book sales are being donated to orca conservation efforts, said Helfman, a southern California native whose own life journey brought him to the San Juans via the University of California, Berkeley and the Peace Corps. As a high school biology teacher he wrote a textbook featuring animals to connect students with their environment.

Helfman takes this approach here. Only now he does it with a narrative rather than expository format.

As the story’s protagonist, Makai finds his world upended by a human-caused tragedy following his release from captivity. His fate ultimately hinges on the help of fellow orcas, whale researchers and a Native teen with Orca Clan roots.

The book alludes to current struggles faced by Southern Residents. Helfman attributes those to their prior persecution as pests, capture for display in marine parks, loss of food supply and deaths of infants from starvation and tainted mother’s milk.

That, in part, is why Helfman chose orcas as main characters. His premise is their innate intelligence makes it possible for them to communicate in a complex manner, thus portraying orcas as a Salish Sea regional group engaged in a perpetual fight for survival.

Helfman, professor emeritus at the University of Georgia’s Odum School of Ecology, spent much of his career as a fish scientist writing academic articles and texts, though able to do so with a rare and more conversational, easy-to-read style.

Helfman recalled one of his colleagues said that “Gene’s textbook is the only one that ever made me laugh.”

Helfman’s command of the written word is similarly moving readers and reviewers of “Beyond the Human Realm.” After all, much of his professional life has been spent encouraging students to think critically and take positive action.

In this case, he aims to inspire a new kinship approach to the preservation of orca whales.