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Wavewalker

A Memoir of Breaking Free

ebook
1 of 1 copy available
1 of 1 copy available
THE INTERNATIONAL BESTSELLER A TIMES BEST MEMOIR OF 2023 'Grippingly vivid and pacey' THE TIMES 'A seven-year old girl on a seventy-foot yacht, for ten years, over fifty thousand miles of sailing' SIMON WINCHESTER 'A seven-year old girl on a seventy-foot yacht, for ten years, over fifty thousand miles of sailing ... a fantastic story of a truly Odyssean journey across all the world's great oceans – but is also the inspiring story of the developing of a restless and inquiring mind' SIMON WINCHESTER 'An astonishing almost day-by-day account of [a] hazardous journey and its legacy' TELEGRAPH 'This is a story of an epic childhood journey, so exciting and so shocking it is hard to know whether you're reading about a dream or a nightmare... Wavewalker is thrilling, horrifying, beautifully written – I couldn't put it down' ED BALLS Aged just seven, Suzanne Heywood set sail with her parents and brother on a three-year voyage around the world. What followed turned instead into a decade-long way of life, through storms, shipwrecks, reefs and isolation, with little formal schooling. No one else knew where they were most of the time and no state showed any interest in what was happening to the children. Suzanne fought her parents, longing to return to England and to education and stability. This memoir covers her astonishing upbringing, a survival story of a child deprived of safety, friendships, schooling and occasionally drinking water... At seventeen Suzanne earned an interview at Oxford University and returned to the UK. From the bestselling author of What Does Jeremy Think?, Wavewalker is the incredible true story of how the adventure of a lifetime became one child's worst nightmare – and how her determination to educate herself enabled her to escape 'A classic memoir of childhood. This is a book that every parent should read to consider the consequences of their midlife crises, and every child should read to learn how to deal with impossible mums and dads, as well as boils and barnacles' Mail on Sunday 5* 'An electrifying story about an extraordinary childhood, and Heywood tells it with remarkable clarity and assurance . . . an engrossing book that pitches the reader into the highs and lows of a young life spent in the "Wavewalker School of the Sea"'TLS
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    • Kirkus

      September 15, 2023
      A harrowing coming-of-age tale set on the high seas. In 1976, 7-year-old Heywood set sail from Plymouth, England, with her parents and brother, Jon. Their itinerary seemed simple: Take Wavewalker, the family boat, and follow the oceanic path sailed by famed Capt. James Cook 200 years prior. Once aboard, however, the voyage proved to be far less straightforward than they anticipated. The unrelenting ocean was sometimes generous to the family, sending adventure and elegant marine life for them to behold, but in many other moments, it caused turmoil, taking out its rage on the boat, the family, and a host of crewmembers who joined them at various ports. Their journey ultimately extended beyond the three years initially planned; though the family was evenly divided on whether to continue the adventure, her father decided they would go on. "This isn't a democracy. It's a benevolent dictatorship," he explained. "The captain always gets the deciding vote." They remained at sea for seven more years, during which time they covered 47,000 nautical miles, "equivalent to circumnavigating the globe twice." Using maps and counting the days spent at sea as signposts, Heywood transports readers into her world, viewed through a porthole. Like the waters they traversed, familial relationships became choppy when the author grew from girlhood to near adulthood. "My parents [were] caught up in their own needs," she recalls, relating how her longing for stability changed her from unwitting accomplice to conscientious objector, "frustrated by my impotence and isolation." She took solace in her correspondence-school studies and eventually earned an offer to stay ashore and study at Oxford. Retelling her story in engaging prose, Heywood asks for neither pity nor sympathy; rather, she seeks healing and catharsis by retracing a childhood lost at sea. Written evidence that no matter what the circumstances, a person's true anchor is often found within.

      COPYRIGHT(2023) Kirkus Reviews, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

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  • English

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