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I Am an Island

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I Am an Island

By: Tamsin Calidas
Narrated by: Tamsin Calidas
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About this listen

Brought to you by Penguin.

When Tamsin Calidas first arrives on a remote island in the Scottish Hebrides, it feels like coming home. Disenchanted by London, she and her husband left the city and high-flying careers to move the 500 miles north, despite having absolutely no experience of crofting or of island life. It was idyllic, for a while. But as the months wear on, the children she'd longed for fail to materialise and her marriage breaks down, Tamsin finds herself in ever-increasing isolation.

Injured, ill, without money or friend, she is pared right back, stripped to becoming simply a raw element of the often harsh landscape. But with that immersion in her surroundings comes the possibility of rebirth and renewal. Tamsin begins the slow journey back from the brink.

Startling, raw and extremely moving, I Am an Island is a story about the incredible ability of the natural world to provide when everything else has fallen away - a stunning audiobook about solitude, friendship, resilience and self-discovery.

©2020 Tamsin Calidas (P)2020 Penguin Audio Marriage Emotionally Gripping Heartfelt Inspiring

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Critic reviews

"Completely astonishing...the fragility of life transcended and restored by the triumphant pull of a determination to survive." (Juliet Nicolson)
All stars
Most relevant
This is the most beautiful, evocative, descriptive and spiritual book I have ever heard. Superb.

Essential Reading

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I find myself struggling with life my heart and body in such pain.
On listening to this book it encouraged me and gave me strength.
I recommend listening to this and let the words fill you with strength.
Thank you

Time of struggle

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Very descriptive and often disturbing portrayal of life in an island community. An uncomfortable read for those still staying there! I definately would have preferred to read this as the monotonous voice of the author just killed the book for me and I struggled to keep going. Had to listen to some chapters several times as had just zoned out

Read the book as authors voice is so monotone

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Her place writing is soulful and beautiful yet her use of language when describing the locals is bordering on offensive and definitively othering. But perhaps they were as awful as she writes - for me it doesn’t quite ring true in places. In this way it reminded me of Wanderland by Jini Reddy. Both books seem to be self absorbed and overly judgemental - her only friend also seems to have been an outsider - maybe that is a result of terrible treatment elsewhere??? Needed a stronger edit as she described digging up a dead sheep in a chapter that follows her fracturing both hands - it doesn’t ring true without a sense of time or acknowledgment of the amount of help she did or didn’t receive. She also mourned for years two babies that failed to implant which makes me think the author feels everything at great depths I’m sure the loss of hope and what might have been was devastating but but it was simply too much for my tastes. If you like a misery memoir it will be a good purchase.

Beautifully written but…

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Loved It. Loved It. Deep and Honest. A wonderfull reminder of our Human resiliance .

Thank You. Thank You.

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