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By: CHCH 527
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2025-06-25 22:34:13 |
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A harrowing account of an alcoholic living a spartan life in London . The author was brutally honest about her failures and short comings - but none of our group was drawn to her . The descriptions of the Orkneys was very tangible and descriptive. |
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By: WANAK 021
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2025-05-22 09:59:23 |
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A slow start but a good story. |
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By: AUCK 014
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2024-11-16 12:55:16 |
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Very positive responses from nearly all in the group. Conveyed a real sense of the author living on the edge, both in the setting on the Orkney Islands (and Papaya in particular), and the lonely internal struggle to overcome her alcohol addiction. The exceptional geological and weather observations plus the wildlife and habitat descriptions. The author's struggle to not drink was visceral. Several in the group knew this area of Scotland and connected strongly to the imagery. |
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By: TAKA 001
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2024-07-10 11:58:34 |
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Overall, the book was enjoyed. In the first half of the book, it felt claustrophobic as if we were trapped in the addiction too, the second half with her ongoing recovery and her more outward look was easier to read, and her description of the Orkneys much enjoyed. There was a lot of admiration for her strength in remaining sober. |
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By: FERN 001
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2024-07-10 10:24:58 |
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The majority enjoyed the style and language of the book. It drew people in to the author's struggles and to her life in the Orkneys. The descriptive passages of nature ( and the elements) were vivid and made us feel that we were there. The stories of Amy's alcoholism were a difficult read for some. |
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By: PAIHIA 001
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2023-10-20 17:07:44 |
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Realistic 'journey' set in a beautiful and interesting location. Most of us enjoyed it. |
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By: DUNED 019
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2023-10-19 14:27:23 |
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We all enjoyed this book. Well written, and interesting themes. |
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By: NELS 040
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2023-09-14 13:32:26 |
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Beautifully written and much enjoyed by our group. |
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By: CHCH 532
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2023-07-03 11:53:29 |
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The majority of the group loved it, and it stimulated a great afternoon of discussion. |
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By: WESTP 001
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2022-11-17 11:18:17 |
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All agreed this was a well-written memoir. We appreciated Amy's honesty about her decline caused by her addictions to drugs and alcohol. We very much enjoyed her descriptions of the Orkneys - birds, sea, sky and humans had us enthralled. We had a vigorous discussion about addictions and manic depression. |
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By: SOUTH 001
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2022-10-21 11:56:17 |
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We all enjoyed this book, especially the author's prose. She had a delightful way of describing the landscapes etc. She had a painful journey with her addiction, but being on Orkney certainly gave her strength and understanding of herself. |
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By: NELS 054
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2022-08-03 11:21:27 |
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We all enjoyed this book, as several of us had visited Orkney. The author's description of Orkney brought our memories to life. |
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By: MATAM 001
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2022-06-29 09:52:02 |
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All of our group found this a compelling story of one person's descent into alcoholism, told in graphic detail. The descriptions of the Orkney islands, former home of Amy Liptrot, were amazing, as was her healing through the wild environment she was increasingly drawn into. |
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By: OTORO 002
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2022-05-27 15:43:13 |
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Beautiful descriptions and an important topic, but a bit slow at times... |
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By: TIMAR 020
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2022-04-27 16:54:11 |
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The writing was greatly admired. Beautiful dense prose. We loved the descriptions of the environment, and were in awe of Amy's recovery and determination. |
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By: AUCK 422
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2022-03-15 13:36:52 |
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Well-written, and and we enjoyed the descriptions of the Orkney Islands. However, most of us didnt really feel a connection with the author, possibly because she was so self absorbed..... |
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By: ASHB 015
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2021-06-01 11:20:58 |
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All members of our group thought this book was a very worthwhile read, and we learnt a lot about what alcoholism is, and how hard it is to control. Also we enjoyed the descriptions of the Orkney Islands and all the references to nature. |
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By: TAUR 004
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2021-04-12 14:08:15 |
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Interesting discussion about alcoholism and recovering. One member had been to the Orkney Islands and visited the Neolithic sites. We all enjoyed reading about Orkney and the author's journey to recovery. |
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By: DUNED 039
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2021-04-09 13:54:43 |
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Everyone loved the book. We had a lively discussion on the issues of addiction, and the impact of something like alcoholism on a person. The setting of the novel in Orkney appealed to many - we discussed the contrasts between London and deserted islands. Liptrot's journey in recovery and her drinking issue engages the reader. She is a talented writer. |
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By: GOVER 005
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2021-03-18 14:30:23 |
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Interesting, informative descriptive of Scottish islands; unusual structure. |
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By: CHCH 145
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2021-02-05 12:27:37 |
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Everyone really enjoyed reading this account of Amy recovering from alcoholism at such a young age, and returning to her Orkney Islands home roots and her wonderful account of living in such harsh surroundings. Her brave honesty confronting her wrecked life, and contrasting her sobriety with stunning descriptions of Orkney. Loved it. |
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By: TAUP 006
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2020-11-11 09:59:01 |
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Good discussion - alcoholism, nature, quality of written language, teenage dissatisfaction all mentioned. Several members felt the book was depressing but most of us enjoyed it. |
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By: ONAWE 001
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2020-11-04 14:24:44 |
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All of our members who were able to attend the meeting really enjoyed this book. A challenging but very honest description of her battle with alcoholism. Wonderful description of the bird life, marine life, and historical sites on these islands. |
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By: CHCH 294
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2020-09-30 13:55:18 |
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A sad story of someone looking for their identity. We all enjoyed her writing and island life. |
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By: MARTIN 001
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2020-05-25 14:54:18 |
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Everyone enjoyed the book, especially the in depth description of the Orkney islands. Some thought there was too much on the author's alcoholism. |
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By: AKAR 002
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2020-05-22 13:33:33 |
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A quick ring around revealed we all enjoyed learning about the Orkneys. Less interested in the alcoholic journey of recovery, but realise the intertwining of the two stories makes the book more balanced. |
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By: WAIKA 011
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2020-03-06 14:22:01 |
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A very popular book for our members. We felt the book was in two parts - one on addiction, and one on the Orkneys. Both interesting. |
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By: UPHU 007
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2020-03-06 14:20:36 |
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Ninety percent of the group really loved it. Found the writing lyrical but for some it was a little 'stop start', or changing the subject too quickly. We appreciated the author's courage for sharing her struggle with alcoholism. The descriptions of the islands were fantastic, and there was lots of information about the birds and about life in general which made it very interesting. |
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