Join National Geographic Explorer in Residence Tara Roberts for an unforgettable evening as she discusses her powerful memoir, Written in the Waters: A Memoir of History, Home, and Belonging, exploring her time following and diving with Black scuba diver and underwater archaeology group Diving With a Purpose as they searched for slave shipwrecks around the world.
When Roberts first saw a photograph at the Smithsonian’s National Museum of African American History & Culture depicting Diving With a Purpose, it called out to her. Roberts joined them—and started on a path of discovery more challenging and personal than she could ever have imagined. From the coasts of Senegal and South Africa to the waters of St. Croix and beyond, she confronted the Middle Passage’s harrowing history while uncovering her roots and exploring what it means to belong.
Interweaving deeply personal storytelling with historical insight, Roberts reflects on the resilience of the human spirit, the importance of remembering the past, and the shared threads that connect us all. Her journey, also captured in a six-part, National Geographic-produced narrative podcast Into the Depths, as well as a cover story for the March 2022 issue of National Geographic magazine, offers a rare and intimate look at history, identity, and discovery.
Roberts has also worked as an editor for CosmoGirl, Essence, AOL, Ebony, and Heart & Soul magazines, edited several books for girls, and founded her own magazine for women “too bold for boundaries.” She spent a year backpacking solo around the world and interviewing young women changemakers. Her journey led to the creation of an award-winning social enterprise to help fund their big ideas. Additionally, Roberts served as a fellow at the MIT Open Documentary Lab from 2019 to 2021 and a director of communications at Ashoka. She graduated cum laude from Mount Holyoke College.
The evening includes a talk by Roberts, followed by a Q&A and book signing of Written in the Waters: A Memoir of History, Home, and Belonging, available for purchase onsite at The Garden Shop or The Garden Shop online, or at The Fountain Room the evening of the event.