The Half Bird
Format:Paperback
Publisher:Penguin Books Ltd
Published:22nd May '25
Should be back in stock very soon
This paperback is available in another edition too:
- Hardback£16.99(9780241553169)
Discover one woman's solo journey from Land’s End to Greece, embracing solitude, self-discovery, and resilience
**Good Housekeeping recommended '20 uplifting memoirs by remarkable women', June 2024**
**Wanderlust magazine best travel books of 2024**
'A lesson on how to live, how to heal, how to grow and how to fly’ - Gordan Buchanan
'A beautiful, wise and open-hearted odyssey through life, loves and the sea' Patrick Barkham, author of The Butterfly Isles
'I didn't know a love song between a woman and her boat could transport, and transfix me. The Half Bird made my heart whole' Rhik Samadder, author of I Never Said I Loved You
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'We have no idea how much resilience there is inside us until we have to draw on it. We learn that we grow through adversity only as we go through it. That we crave happiness like plants leaning toward the light'
In 2016, Susan Smillie quit her job to sail round the British Isles aboard her beloved yacht Isean. Yet when it came to rounding the tip of Cornwall, she unexpectedly headed south, leaving home in her wake.
Over the next three years she sailed the continent, living with only the basics she had aboard, by her wits, and via the kindness of the people and beauty of the coasts she encountered.
But Susan’s travels were just the beginning of her spiritual journey. Could she make the wild, unruly sea her home?
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Praise for The Half Bird
'It’s hard to read The Half Bird without wondering whether you could do it too. It may be better to start by pondering Smillie’s wider message – that to work out what will truly make you happy, you first need to stop and smell the air around you' Guardian
'Told with all the invigorating energy of a crisp wind under a cloudless sky' Charlotte Higgins, Chief culture writer, Guardian
‘Smillie finds a freedom, beauty, and joy in amongst the rolling waves and shifting tides of loss, illness, and grief. The Half Bird is an immensely enjoyable ocean adventure, but what emerges is a deeply inspiring story about the quiet strengths that reside within us all’ Will Millard
Absorbing, moving, impressive * Guardian *
A beautiful, wise and open-hearted odyssey through life, loves and the sea. Susan lives many of our dreams, showing how we need nature, solitude and community – and less stuff! – to flourish and find freedom * Patrick Barkham, author of The Butterfly Isles *
Susan Smillie's story is told with all the invigorating energy of a crisp wind under a cloudless sky. The way she renders the world as seen from the prow of her beloved Isean is utterly beguiling. The Half Bird is a wonderful book – and one that shows vividly and fearlessly that there are many ways for an adventurous woman to live * Charlotte Higgins, Chief culture writer, The Guardian *
A lesson on how to live, how to heal, how to grow and how to fly * Gordan Buchanan, wildlife filmmaker *
This book is for all nature lovers, freedom lovers and anyone who dreams of escaping the daily grind. Without a big budget or much experience, Susan makes her dream happen and takes to a life at sea. We travel with her through her solo journey, experiencing the highs and lows, the fear and loneliness as well as the joy and elation of being truly free. I would recommend it to anyone, sailor or not, who wants a life-affirming, moving and compelling read * Guy Grieve, author of Sea Legs: One Family’s Adventure on the Ocean *
There is a rare subtlety in so much of this. Smillie finds a freedom, beauty, and joy in amongst the rolling waves and shifting tides of loss, illness, and grief. The Half Bird is an immensely enjoyable ocean adventure, but what emerges is a deeply inspiring story about the quiet strengths that reside within us all * Will Millard, author and BBC presenter *
I didn't know a love song between a woman and her boat could transport, and transfix me. The Half Bird made my heart whole * Rhik Samadder, author of I Never Said I Loved You *
ISBN: 9780241553176
Dimensions: 198mm x 130mm x 14mm
Weight: 161g
224 pages