Island wife

It is a while since a book has gripped my imagination and inner world the way that Island Wife has. The author Judy Fairbairns beguiled me into a world of countless possibilities yet all with a dash of wisdom and common sense. That is not to idealise the book into sentimentality, merely that I want to explain why I am giving it a nine and a half out of ten. It is one of those books that one doesn’t want to put down and yet there is also a longing not to come to the end.

That explains why I would give it a nine out of ten. A nine and a half even. . . . . .  Now to give you a flavour whilst at the same time avoiding the sin of spoiling the narrative.

I should own up to the fact that I relate to this autobiographical adventure cum love story in a special way, mainly because I lived in the Outer Hebrides for almost ten years. Years when I watched my four sons grow happy, healthy and confident in near idyllic conditions. We all like to identify with either a character, a place or an event in books. It is what makes them unique as a way of sharing with others in the world. The adventure that is setting out into marriage, parenthood and learning new skills is one with which it is easy to find common ground, and so a conversation is set up internally with the writer. Whether you identify with one of the Oldies or long to be like a butterfly emerging from the chrysallis of childhood I defy you not to be moved.

At times I was intrigued, worried, excited, tearful and empathetic. I even found myself getting cross with some of the players – but the whole point is that I was never ever bored and certainly not unengaged. My difficulty in writing this review is that I hope you might get the chance to read the book, so I don’t want to reveal the twists and turns of a life. For this is a story wound round Judy herself. And Judy is more than a survivor, she is clearly someone who grasps life and twirls it round your heart and soul.

So, there it is, a review that says far less about the topic than I would usually divulge. Let me know of any books that help to make sense of your own journey