Sea Bean

Sea Bean is a 2023 Waterstones Nature and Travel Best Book of the Year, longlisted for the 2023 Highland Book Prize, and shortlisted for the 2023 Wainwright Nature Writing Prize. It is a modern, revealing, and restorative coastal treasure by Amy Liptrot, a gorgeous reckoning with the sea, islands, and mythology by Sinead Gleeson, a wild melding of body and landscape by Helen Jukes, and a powerful journey of sea and self, trial, and hope on the islands of Shetland by Joanna Pocock. It follows Sally's search for a sea bean, which begins after she moves to the windswept archipelago of Shetland. The book offers glimpses of orcas swimming through the ocean, the chance to release a tiny storm petrel, and a path of hope. It is a message in a bottle, an interconnection of our oceans, communities, and ourselves, and an invitation to feel belonging when we are adrift.

Format: Hardback
Length: 352 pages
Publication date: 06 April 2023
Publisher: Cornerstone

A WATERSTONES NATURE AND TRAVEL BEST BOOK OF 2023, LONGLISTED FOR THE 2023 HIGHLAND BOOK PRIZE, LONGLISTED FOR THE WAINWRIGHT NATURE WRITING PRIZE 2023.

Modern, revealing, and restorative, a coastal treasure. Amy Liptrot. Like its talismanic title, Huband's voice is distinct and singular. A gorgeous reckoning with the sea, islands, and mythology. Sinéad Gleeson. A wild melding of body and landscape. A deep, immersive, storm-tossed read. Helen Jukes. As vital and complex as the oceans themselves. Joanna Pocock. A powerful journey of sea and self, trial, and hope on the islands of Shetland.

When a seed falls from a vine in the tropics and is carried by ocean currents across the Atlantic to the shores of Western Europe - it is known as a sea bean. It is still considered lucky to find a sea bean on the shore, they have been used as magical charms for more than a thousand years.

Sally's search for a sea bean begins not long after she moves to the windswept archipelago of Shetland. When pregnancy triggers a chronic illness and forces her to slow down, Sally takes to the beaches. There she discovers treasure freighted with story and curiosities that connect her to the world.

The wild shores of Shetland offer glimpses of orcas swimming through the ocean at dusk, the chance to release a tiny storm petrel into the dark of the night, and a path of hope. This beachcombing path takes her from the Faroese archipelago to the Orkney islands, and the Dutch island of Texel. It opens a world of ancient myths, fragile ecology, and deep human history. It brings her to herself again.

Sea Bean is a message in a bottle. An interconnection of our oceans, communities, and ourselves, and an invitation to feel belonging when we are adrift.

Weight: 454g
Dimension: 223 x 142 x 30 (mm)
ISBN-13: 9781529152470