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- One Wild Song
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Description
When British television presenter Paul Heiney's son, Nicholas, committed suicide at age 23, Paul and his wife, Sunday Times columnist Libby Purves, were rocked to the core. Although he had struggled with severe depression for many years, Nicholas had been a highly gifted and promising young man.
Among other things, Nicholas was a keen sailor, with several of his posthumously-published writings having a nautical theme. To try to reconnect with this happier memory of his son, Paul decides to set out--alone--on a voyage he would have liked them to have embarked upon together.
Cape Horn is the sailor's Everest: One of the most remote and bleak parts of the world, it takes courage, physical strength, and mental fortitude to face its tempestuous seas, violent winds, and barren landscape. During the voyage, Paul finds peace of mind and a way to face the future without his son.
Poignant, moving, funny, thought-provoking, and beautifully written, Paul's account of setting his own course through seemingly insurmountable grief makes for a powerful story. Injected with humor, perceptiveness, and philosophy, recounting his highs, lows, frustrations, and triumphs, the honesty and openness of Paul's story makes this very personal account a universal tale--for sailors and non-sailors alike.
Product details
| Published | Sep 08 2015 |
|---|---|
| Format | Hardback |
| Edition | 1st |
| Extent | 240 |
| ISBN | 9781472919489 |
| Imprint | Adlard Coles |
| Illustrations | 2 x 8pp photo sections |
| Dimensions | 9 x 6 inches |
| Publisher | Bloomsbury Publishing |
About the contributors
Reviews
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A terrific adventure into wild and distant waters, and a strong tribute to a son's memory. Paul Heiney's story is a new classic of small-boat seafaring and a fine description of the deep south.
Sir Ranulph Fiennes
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One Wild Song is a little masterpiece--sometimes thrilling, sometimes hilarious, sometimes almost unbearably moving . . . A wonderfully told story of the sea, shot through with an author's anguish at the loss of a beloved (and hugely talented) son. I have never read anything like it before and it haunts me still.
John Julius Norwich
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A wonderful book, finely considered and beautifully written, that does not spare us the considerable trials of small-boat voyaging, nor the struggle to make sense of the incomprehensible nature of loss. It is an absorbing, moving journey which explores the wonders and frustrations of the sea as powerfully as it explores the mysteries of the human spirit; a journey which ends where all true journeys should end, with a greater measure of peace and understanding.
Clare Francis
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The wilds of ocean, island, and glacier offer danger and wonder on this 18,000-mile pilgrimage.
National Geographic Traveler
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The book is poignant, never maudlin, and has excellent descriptions of sailing the Beagle Channel and Cape Horn.
Sailing
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Conveys the weight of grief, salted with moments of humor and the highs and lows of sailing through storms and vast expanses of water.
Soundings Publications

























