Moana Kawelo, PhD, has a promising career as a museum curator in Los Angeles. The untimely death of her father and the gravitational pull of Hawai i when she returns home for his funeral causes Moana to question her motivations and her glamorous life in California. Between the Deep Blue Sea and Me is the story of Moana s struggle to understand her ancestral responsibilities, mend relationships, and find her identity as a Hawaiian in today s world.