The narrative structure moves between how she spent her time on the islands and how life unfolded then imploded in London, including time attending AA meetings. Migrate she did - and the book tells of her chaotic life in London descending into alcohol addiction, difficult relationships, lack of direction and a distressing adverse event that is the catalyst for her return to Orkney in search of healing. She recalls memories of rural life and how, as a teenager, she yearned to spread her wings. The prose is pure without being flowery or too sentimental, and her close knowledge and respect for the wild Orcadian landscape is evident. A mingling of childhood memories with exposition of the island’s landscape and wildlife is not only a backdrop to her story but the very fabric of it.
The book continues with Liptrot’s return to the island after a young adulthood spent partying in London. This sets the tone and premise for her story - one of leaving and returning, excess and retreat. The opening pages take place on Mainland’s airstrip: Her father is waiting to be taken to a mental institution in Aberdeen as her mother arrives to introduce his newborn daughter (Liptrot). Liptrot’s memoir is set in Orkney and London, and springs from a backdrop of extremes: her father’s mental illness her parents’ separation her mother’s subsequent religious fervour and the author’s struggles with addiction. I’m also a wildlife lover and bird-fan (albeit not a fully fledged twitcher), so there was much to absorb me in this book. I’ve long been interested in ‘overcoming adversity’ memoirs since reading Maya Angelou’s autobiography in my twenties. IG (Illustration): (Photography): a city dweller who nurses romantic notions of living somewhere less peopled, I’d been meaning to read this for a while.
The former and latter are likely on a creative collision course - albeit tethered in sketchbooks waiting to be set free. She is also an enthusiastic amateur photographer interested in nature, wildlife and abstraction. Paula is currently exploring new ways of working within her limits of being semi-disabled due to chronic illness. She was awarded an Arts Council England grant for the work. An extract of it reached Myriad’s inaugural First Graphic Novel competition in 2012, chosen by judges including Ian Rankin, Corinne Pearlman and Steve Bell. Her latest book, The Facts of Life, is a graphic novel memoir for adults, published in 2017 by Myriad Editions after six years in the making. She has illustrated over 60 children’s books and written three picture books. Paula Knight is an author, illustrator and comics creator.
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