MEDIA

Monday, June 11th 2018

Sebastian Slovin was 6 years old when his father took his own life. After his dad died, Slovin said his family avoided talking about suicide. Still, he had a lot of unanswered questions, which set him on a quest to get a better understanding of his father's death.

In his new memoir, “Ashes in the Ocean,” Slovin opens up about his experience living through and learning from his father’s suicide.

With suicide rates becoming a growing problem in the U.S., Slovin said he hopes his book raises awareness about the stigma of suicide and helps others who have struggled with the loss of a loved one by suicide. Last week, fashion icon Kate Spade and celebrity chef Anthony Bourdain each took their own lives, leaving behind young children.

Slovin discusses Monday on Midday Edition Monday, the effects of suicide on family members...

Grief Dreams Podcast - Sebastian Slovin

Sunday, June 10th 2018

Sebastian Slovin grew up in the beach community of La Jolla, California, and spent much of his childhood in and around the ocean. As a young adult, he had the opportunity to travel extensively and experience many of the world’s great surf spots as a professional bodyboarder. He is the author of The Adventures of Enu and Ashes in the Ocean. Sebastian is also co-founder of Nature Unplugged, which focuses on cultivating healthy relationships with technology and reconnecting to nature. In this episode we talk about bodyboarding, the death of his father by suicide, his grief journey, dreams of his father, and a dream he wants to have of him.

Friday, June 8th 2018

SAN DIEGO – La Jolla Cove is a sacred place for author Sebastian Slovin. At age 6, he and his mother and younger sister spread the ashes of his father, Vernon Slovin.

“Anytime my dad’s name came up or anytime suicide was mentioned, the subject would be changed,” Slovin said. “Anytime I got close to talking about it, I felt like I was judged right away.”

But after suffering with his father’s suicide for decades, Slovin took the unique and uncomfortable path of starting that conversation about suicide, writing the book “Ashes in the Ocean: A Son’s Story of Living Through and Learning From His Father’s Suicide.”

“Facing what I had been running away from, which was feeling like I was destined to follow in my father’s footsteps,” Slovin said...

Sunday, April 8th, 2018

Every time Sebastian Slovin is by the Pacific, with its foamy waves lapping on the shore and the cool breeze flowing through his shaggy blond hair, he thinks of his father Vernon.

“We spread his ashes there and from that moment on, every visit was an opportunity to reconnect with him,” explains Slovin. “It’s a place of healing for me since I see my dad as part of that environment. It’s a metaphor for him in a way...

Offshore Insights Podcast: Sebastian Slovin - Ashes in the Ocean

May 2018

Sebastian Slovin takes us on a voyage, chronicling his experience of living in the shadow of his father’s suicide and his journey back into the light. Writing the book, Ashes in the Ocean, gave Sebastian time to reflect, in depth, on his father’s life and death, as well as the impact it had on his family and him. Through this experience, we learn how deep connections with nature and the ocean can provide the necessary support and solace we seek in times of traumas and tumultuous change, even when our resources on land seem to fall short. Ultimately, this a story about facing one’s fears and choosing a different path.

Dealing with my Grief Podcast: Sebastian Slovin

April 2018

Today I have the honor of speaking with someone about loss as a result of suicide... Sebastian Slovin grew up in La Jolla, California and traveled extensively as a professional bodyboarder. As a young boy, Sebastian lost his father to suicide, which would later deeply inspire his path in life. He holds a BA in Environmental Policy from San Diego State University and an MA in Leadership Studies from the University of San Diego. He and his wife, Sonya, founded Nature Unplugged, which focuses on cultivating wellness through healthier relationships with technology and a deeper connection to nature. He's recently launched a memoir, Ashes in the Ocean, a reflection about living through and learning from his father’s suicide.

Offshore Insights Podcast: Sebastian Slovin and Sonya Mohamed - Nature Unplugged

April 2018

In this episode, I sit down with Sonya Mohamed and Sebastian Slovin, to talk about their company, Nature Unplugged and discuss various ways to establish healthier relationships to technology and deeper connections to nature.

Raw Relationships Podcast: Sebastian Slovin - Nature Unplugged

April 2018

Sebastian and Melissa talk about Nature Unplugged and setting healthy boundaries around the tech world. 

Friday, April 6th 2018

Writer and blogger Crystal Otto shares her thoughts on Ashes in the Ocean: "First of all, I don't think you can read a memoir like this without thanking the author for their bravery. Human nature sometimes allows us to believe that some rocks are best left buried and some skeletons are best left in closets. Sometimes we just need to remember that it's the truth that sets us free and unearthing those rocks to look beneath them or letting those skeletons out so the closet has room for something new can be a very freeing opportunity. Like any labor of love - there will be labor pains. Ashes in the Ocean is filled with the pain of loss, but yet Sebastian doesn't allow himself to be consumed by the sorrow of his father's death..."

Thursday, April 5th 2018

Writer, blogger, and social networker Nicole Pyles reviews Ashes in the Ocean: " I am such a strong believer that the more we talk about our personal mental health struggles and the mental illnesses that impact our society the more that things can change. Mental illness has directly impacted my life by having a brother with schizophrenia. And so I definitely wanted to take part in this blog tour for Sebastian Slovin's book Ashes in the Ocean..." 

Tuesday, April 3rd 2018

Blogger Dawn Thomas shares her take on Ashes in the Ocean: "The subject of mental illness does not get enough discussion. Families that are touched by suicide are never the same again. Most times, the ones left behind do not get resolution because their questions go unanswered. This is the case with Sebastian Slovin. His father, Vernon Slovin, was a well-known swimmer. To the outside world, he lived a perfect life with his wife and two small children. On the inside, however, things were far from perfect. He suffered from depression and was never satisfied. He always looked for something better but could not find it..." 

Monday, April 2nd, 2018

Author and blogger Jerry Waxler explores Ashes in the Ocean: "In the memoir Ashes in the Ocean, Sebastian Slovin must find his own identity beneath the shadow of his father’s suicide. At first, the dramatic tension results from the reader’s empathy for a boy who suffers the ultimate abandonment and betrayal. Over the course of the book, the tension increases because the boy fears he is doomed to repeat his father’s self-destructive pattern. This fear sends him on an urgent chase to dig deeper into his father’s mind and then into his own. The book becomes a race with the clock. Will he find his truth before surrendering to the mad impulse to destroy himself?..." Read More>

Thursday, March 29th, 2018

Nancy Cramer reviews Ashes in the Ocean: "Reading Ashes in the Ocean by Sebastian Slovin brings suicide into the forefront. Being a nature lover, an athlete and a Yoga teacher extraordinaire, helps Sebastian confront and delve into his father’s suicide. A recollection of a childhood that could’ve been different. A realization of how a person lives their life and how it can form another person’s life. An awakening that what you have lived, what you think you know and what you find out can change who you become..." Read More>

In this review, Madeline Sharples shares her thoughts on Ashes in the Ocean. "Because I had a son who took his own life and I wrote a memoir about him and the way he chose to die, followed by how my family and I survived, I know that writing about a loved one’s suicide is not easy. A suicide death is different from natural or accidental deaths, probably because there is so much guilt and blame among the survivors. Survivors don’t even want to say or write the suicide word because of the stigma..." Read More>

Blogger Review: Book Santa Fe

Tuesday, March 27th, 2018

Dawn Farnsworth of Book Santa Fe reviews Ashes in the Ocean. "I truly enjoyed reading Ashes in the Ocean by Sebastian Slovin. This is a brutally honest book although it is not written in a way that makes you feel sorry for the author. Sebastian has shared the story of his father's suicide but it is more so a story about how he used that event to become empowered instead of using it as an excuse. Sebastian has risen above this tragedy and uses his book, Ashes in the Ocean, as a platform for helping others..." Read More> 

Interview and Giveaway on The Muffin

Monday, March 26th, 2018

Crystal Otto of Women on Writing interviews Sebastian about his journey, thoughts about surviving suicide, writing process, and next steps personally and professionally. Read the Interview>

Ashes in the Ocean Blog Tour (March/April 2018)

This month, several bloggers around the world will be posting their thoughts and reviews of Ashes in the Ocean. Our Side of Suicide, a resource blog for suicide survivors, will also be featuring a guest post about "The Stigma of Suicide." You can follow along each day, starting March 26, 2018 to see what they thought. read more >

By Rob LeDonne

On the sand in Solana Beach, Sebastian Slovin is practicing his typical routine before he hops on his surfboard to catch some Pacific Ocean waves. Slovin is an avid surfer and former professional bodyboarder, moonlights as a lifeguard while he works his full-time job down the coast at the La Jolla Yoga Center as a trainer, and always makes sure to get a quick yoga session in before hitting the water. “I do it mainly to get my body warmed up... to get my breath going, my blood flowing. It makes me much more ready to surf, both mentally and physically.” read more >

- Rancho Santa Fe Review

By Staff

A deep connection to nature and the desire to give a loving tribute to his father led local resident Sebastian Slovin to write and publish a picture book, “The Adventures of Enu: The Tale of the Giant Whale.” Created in collaboration with Blaze Syka, who designed the vibrant pen-and-ink illustrations, the work is a modern-day fable. read more >