The Half Bird

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What to expect

Brought to you by Penguin.

Discover the incredible story of one woman's solo journey across the Bay of Biscay, into the Mediterranean, and the unexpected joy of solitude, self-discovery and resilience
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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'

When Susan quit her job in London and set sail off the south coast of England on her beloved sailboat, Isean, she was unaware this spontaneous departure would lead to a three-year journey spanning several countries across the continent.

With only the very basics on board, resourcefulness becomes an unexpected source of joy and contentment. The highs and lows of living in such an extreme way awakens a newfound appreciation for the beauty of her surroundings, for being safe - for just being alive.

For all the physical and navigational challenges of her journey, the other side of her story reveals a more important change - an inner journey - that took place along the way.

This wasn't merely a challenge, a mid-life adventure or gap-year career break; it was much gentler than that, but much greater too.

She was seeking nothing less than an entirely different life, having left the land far behind to call the wild, unbiddable sea home.
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©2024 Susan Smillie (P)2024 Penguin Audio

Critics Review

  • 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

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