Tuesday 8 December 2015

SHETLAND SAGA: A SOOTHMOOTHER'S STORY OUT NOW IN PAPERBACK

Stuck for Christmas presents? 

If you haven't already downloaded the kindle version of my memoir SHETLAND SAGA: A SOOTHMOOTHER'S STORY , the book is now out in paperback, available from Amazon, The Book Depository and Wordery . Most reviewers have given it 5 * for a good read. At £8.99 from Amazon and cheaper through Book Depository  it makes a unique present. If you are adverse to Amazon or internet ordering you can buy directly from me.

As a reminder of what it's about...

      In 2004 Rhys and I left our South Wales home for the Shetland Isles., where I had a job as a counsellor in a new Primary Health Care service. This is the story of our year's experience, and explores themes of attachment, relationships, connection, remoteness and belonging.

What people have said about the book:

 'Quite different from the usual euphoric account of rural bliss on remote islands, this book is a rather deeper and more interesting description of the human process of relocating, filling a new and challenging post, and forging meaningful relationships in a beautiful but not always welcoming environment. The scenery is fabulous, the wildlife awesome, the winter celebrations long, unique and rumbustious, but communities and individuals are undergoing severe economic and social strains, all the more poignant in such a sparsely populated, scattered archipelago. Ms Teal Daniel has had the courage to write a frank and honest account of both the deep frustrations and intense joys of working in the Shetlands as a non-Shetlander' .    ***** (Amazon customer)   


'An honest and affectionate description of an outsider's place in a close community, this is an entrancing read that had me place Shetland at the very top of my travel 'wish list'. ***** (Jane R)


'This is an honest, humorous and thought-provoking journey. A middle-aged woman persuades her husband to upsticks and join her when she is offered a job on a remote island off the coast of Scotland. The couple - Jan a therapist and Rhys an artist - leave their family and friends in Cardiff to brave the weather, the gannets and the isolation of island life. This (true) saga is particularly compelling for its insights into the mind of the therapist. We hear her thoughts, we hear her conversations, how she copes with difficulties and how she throws herself enthusiastically into island life. I laughed out loud in many places. I was horrified in others. But mostly I felt drawn in and honoured by the honesty of the account. 
This is a beautifully crafted book, with a rich balance of cultural, historical information and personal triumphs. Highly recommended not only for people thinking of leaving their steady life behind; not only for middle aged women whose children have just left home; not only for people who want to get to grips with their inner psyche; but for anyone who wants to read a good story.' *****(Emily Hinshelwood)

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