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Soundings

Journeying North in the Company of Whales - the award-winning memoir

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Soundings

By: Doreen Cunningham
Narrated by: Doreen Cunningham
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'Beautiful . . . Justifies its place alongside nature writing classics such as H is for Hawk' NEW STATESMAN

'Wonderful ... both frank and fearless' TELEGRAPH BEST TRAVEL BOOKS OF THE YEAR

'Fascinating' GUARDIAN TOP TEN NATURE MEMOIRS

From Mexico to the Arctic ice, grey whale mothers swim with their calves. Following them, by bus, train and ferry, are Doreen and her toddler Max, in pursuit of a wild hope. Doreen first visited Alaska as a young journalist reporting on climate change among indigenous whaling communities. There, drawn deeply into an Iñupiaq family, she joined the bowhead whale hunt, watching for polar bears under the never-ending light. Years later, now a single mother living in a hostel, Doreen embarks on this extraordinary journey: following the grey whale migration back to the Arctic, where greys and bowheads meet at the melting apex of our planet.

'Soundings got under my skin. I finished it in tears' AMY LIPTROT

'What a voice! What a book!' CHARLES FOSTER

'Soulful, honest, insightful, humane and propulsive' JINI REDDY

'Thrilling, passionate and tender-hearted' HELEN JUKES

WINNER OF THE RSL GILES ST AUBYN AWARD

ONE OF SMITHSONIAN MAGAZINE'S TEN BEST BOOKS ABOUT TRAVEL OF 2022 ©2022 Doreen Cunningham Adventure Travel Adventurers, Explorers & Survival Environmentalists & Naturalists Motherhood Parenting & Families Professionals & Academics Relationships Women Polar Region Heartfelt Thought-Provoking Inspiring
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Critic reviews

A beautiful account of trauma, community and nature's capacity to heal, this book takes its place alongside modern classics of the genre such as Helen Macdonald's H is for Hawk.
The endless wait of the whale hunt is made fascinating by her quiet observations. The protagonists make a deeply refreshing triad: a single mother travelling with her child, learning from the whales how to parent (Sarah Thomas)
Compelling ... A human story of resilience, loss and immense bravery ... A rallying cry for love
A wonderful debut . . . both frank and fearless, and a plea for the whales to be allowed to live, and die, in peace
An original, unexpectedly pacey blend of memoir and nature writing. Whether observing how the ceteceans are threatened by global warming, delving into the lives of the Inupiaq or sharing personal struggles, Cunningham brings a sensitivity to the page. This is a moving riposte to those who offer atomised perspectives on the natural world (Jini Reddy)
A striking, brave and often lyrical book that defies easy interpretation . . . Her sensuous descriptions of grey whales and humpbacks provide some of the book's richest passages . . . She is no Ahab; it is not a single whale to which she is drawn, but the collective, and in the end the whales act as stepping-stones, bridges to human relationships on her journey, notably with other women and mothers. What at first seems a reckless, near-mystical pursuit of an imagined being leads her to find a human pod of her own. (Edward Posnett)
Soundings got under my skin. It was as if I'd joined Doreen and her young son on their search for grey whales, and we'd been through something important together. I finished it in tears
Doreen's is a thrilling, passionate and tenderhearted adventure. I read this book in one sitting, and couldn't sleep that night - my mind was still filled with her extraordinary endurance, her wild spirit.
What a voice! What a book! Pounding with the power of thrashing flukes, shivering with Arctic ice, yet suffused with rare human warmth. A book worthy of its mighty subjects.
Beautiful . . . Through such delicate merging of environmental and individual trauma, Soundings births a raw, intimate narrative about nature's capacity to mend - and justifies its place alongside modern nature writing classics, such as Helen Macdonald's H is for Hawk (India Bourke)
Beautiful and brave, and startling in its raw emotional honesty.
This stunning book blends nature writing of the most urgent kind with precise and poetic observation of human tribulation and the interconnectedness of all things. Fresh, brave and unique
Soundings stuns with its bravery and lyricism. This is a book to be devoured.
All stars
Most relevant
The pieces that make up this story help bring a baseline to how parenting is not only the role one brings to their child, but also to themselves, their communities and the adventures and stories the fosters. Cunningham births herself by rewilding who she is as a new mother fighting to be safe, visible and independent, in a world often not setup for following whims, curiosities and the like. She does this by following the great whale migration, and it is such an honest, gripping and brave pilgrimage she shares.

A pilgrimage of whale, calf, mother toddler

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A gloriously brave and beautifully told tale of one (exceptional) woman reclaiming her life and simultaneously learning how to be a single parent. All of this with the stunning background of a description of whales' migration and reflections on climate change.

A truly original and remarkable book.

I highly recommend this!

'It was worth having no hope, only so I could experience receiving it back.'

Brave and beautiful

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I finished this book a few days ago and I’m still thinking about it. It’s a true story of a mum and her son and a journey they take to watch the grey whale migration. The way the author has woven her past & recent traumas with more facts about climate issues than I had a clue about while hooking me on the deep romance of her life, made this memoir hard to put down. I’ve learned so much without even trying. And I’ve enjoyed the process, relating to the parallels of human and whale mothering. What a beautiful way to engage with such important topics. The authors voice was sincere, it felt like she was telling me a story rather than reading a book. Just love it!

Important and urgent

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You sort of know what you’re going to get with this book and you sort of get it but it takes strange turns and by the end is very moving

Strange and moving

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What a wonderful book! Love that Doreen herself narrated her own story. A fascinating lady with an amazing story to tell. Loved every second.

Brilliant

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