In February of 2020, Echo Morgan tragically lost her son Matthew Morgan, a Palatine native, who died in Okinawa, Japan while serving in the US Army. To honor his memory and legacy she wrote and published her first children’s book titled Scuba Matt’s Underwater Adventure. Profits from the book will be donated to create a scuba diving training grant in his name.
“Matt was an avid scuba diver and instructor. He loved the ocean, scuba diving and teaching others,” stated Morgan. “After his death and through my grief, I needed an outlet – a way to cope – and had a strong need to honor my son’s memory to ensure he would never be forgotten,” explained Morgan. “The idea of writing a book popped into my head while walking one day and I went home and wrote the first draft of what would become Scuba Matt’s Underwater Adventure.”
Scuba Matt’s Underwater Adventure takes readers on an adventure to meet and learn about a variety of sea animals and marine life. Readers are swept into a magical underwater world and come face-to- face with a variety of sea animals and marine life including coral reefs, fish, stingrays, octopus and more. The book is filled with bright colorful illustrations, rhyming pose and fun facts. “The book is geared toward ages 3-10 but makes learning about the ocean fun for both children and adults,” said Morgan. “The book is a fun story designed to excite, educate and entertain young readers while also offering fun facts that older children and adults will enjoy as well.”
And what started out as a project for family and friends has turned into publishing and selling almost 1,000 copies of the book so far. “The response to the book has been so positive that I continue to print more books and I’m now focused on donating profits from the sale of the book to create a scuba diving training grant in Matt’s name,“ explained Morgan. “My goal is to partner with a local non-profit organization called DiveHeart to help provide financial assistance to disabled and wounded veterans, who would like to learn to scuba dive but might not have the financial means to do so, “ continued Morgan. “My hope is that the book and scuba diving training grant will inspire future divers and protectors of the ocean. I cannot think of a better way tohonor my son Matthew and his legacy.”
