Book Recommendations
The Outrun
By Amy Liptrot
Biography & Autobiography, General, Personal Memoirs, Nature, Self-Help, Substance Abuse & Addictions, Alcohol, Social Science, Agriculture & Food | 304 pages
1 recommendation
THE SUNDAY TIMES TOP TEN BESTSELLER WINNER OF THE 2016 WAINWRIGHT PRIZE SHORTLISTED FOR THE 2017 ONDAATJE PRIZE SHORTLISTED FOR THE 2016 WELLCOME PRIZE At the age of thirty, Amy Liptrot finds herself washed up back home on Orkney. Standing unstable on the island, she tries to come to terms with the addiction that has swallowed the last decade of her life. As she spends her mornings swimming in the bracingly cold sea, her days tracking Orkney's wildlife, and her nights searching the sky for the Merry Dancers, Amy discovers how the wild can restore life and renew hope.
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Anna Winch
"This is a beautifully written memoir of a young Orcadian. The story combines a daringly vulnerable exposure of alcoholism and recovery superimposed on the remote and windswept Orkney Island, Papa Westray.
The story tells of a childhood on the mainland in a remote farm just north of the Bay of Skail, home to the Neolithic settlement Skara Brae. The outrun is a stretch of land between the sea and the farm - wild in one part and tamer on the other side. This becomes a metaphor for Liptrot’s life. A marginal place, unsure of identity, caught by mental unwellness, about to be engulfed by huge Atlantic breakers or life events at any time.
The story telling is impressive, skilfully moving between the past and present, trying to make sense of her journey and purpose. The book is full of fascinating facts about the archipelago and nature - all through an interesting dimension of the author using the internet to find out, explore, connect and ground herself through her recovery.
I loved this book for taking me back to the beauty of Orkney (we went there with Explore in July this year), the wildness and untamed nature. These wild spaces can be shaped by weather, animals, sea, land and people - and so can we 💙"
The story tells of a childhood on the mainland in a remote farm just north of the Bay of Skail, home to the Neolithic settlement Skara Brae. The outrun is a stretch of land between the sea and the farm - wild in one part and tamer on the other side. This becomes a metaphor for Liptrot’s life. A marginal place, unsure of identity, caught by mental unwellness, about to be engulfed by huge Atlantic breakers or life events at any time.
The story telling is impressive, skilfully moving between the past and present, trying to make sense of her journey and purpose. The book is full of fascinating facts about the archipelago and nature - all through an interesting dimension of the author using the internet to find out, explore, connect and ground herself through her recovery.
I loved this book for taking me back to the beauty of Orkney (we went there with Explore in July this year), the wildness and untamed nature. These wild spaces can be shaped by weather, animals, sea, land and people - and so can we 💙"
