"The Water is Wide" is a memoir written by Pat Conroy. It is an account of his experiences as a teacher on Daufuskie Island, a small, isolated island off the coast of South Carolina. The book details Conroy's time spent teaching in a one-room schoolhouse on the island and his efforts to educate and empower his students, who were mostly the children of poor, uneducated Gullah islanders. The book also describes the unique culture and way of life of the Gullah people, and the struggles they faced in the face of poverty, racism and discrimination. The book is considered a classic and it is widely read and studied in schools and universities. It was published in 1972 and it was a New York Times bestseller. It was also adapted into a film, "Conrack" in 1974. Conroy is known for his vivid descriptions and his ability to bring the reader into the lives and struggles of the people he writes about.