Thunderstone: Finding Shelter from the Storm

In the aftermath of a traumatic lockdown, Nancy Campbell buys an old caravan and moves it into a strip of neglected woodland. She embraces the challenge of living well in a place where possessions and emotions often threaten to tumble, clearing industrial junk from the soil, forging unconventional friendships, and helping the wild beauty surrounding her to flourish. However, when illness and uncertainty loom once more, she must find a way to hold on to beauty and wonder and anchor herself in her van, a safe space, and a shelter from the storm.

Format: Paperback / softback
Length: 256 pages
Publication date: 06 April 2023
Publisher: Elliott & Thompson Limited

Winner of the Ackereley Prize 2023






'The most thoughtful and soothing book I've read this year.' - Daily Mail






'There is just one object I want to carry inside the van... It was believed lightning would not strike a house that held a thunderstone. I place this fossil on the windowsill, its surface gleaming like cats eyes ahead of me on a dark road.'






In the wake of a traumatic lockdown, Nancy Campbell buys an old caravan and drives it into a strip of neglected woodland between a canal and railway. There is no plumbed water, no electricity point, and the walls are as thin as a Kinder egg. But it is the first home she has ever owned.






As summer begins, Nancy embraces the challenge of how to live well in a place in which possessions and emotions often threaten to tumble, clearing industrial junk from the soil, forging unconventional friendships off-grid, and helping the wild beauty surrounding her to flourish. But when illness and uncertainty loom once more, she has to find a way to hold on to beauty and wonder, to anchor herself in this van, this safe space, this shelter from the storm.






An intimate journal across the space of a defining summer, Nancy Campbell's memoir is a celebration of the people and places that hold us when the storms gather; a soul-shaking journey that reminds us what it is to be alive.






'A beautiful and often very funny account of hope and healing in the face of illness and uncertainty.' - TLS






'How to find beauty and wonder even in the most trying of circumstances.' - The Scotsman






'An uplifting, heart-filled read full of hope and love.' - Lulah Ellender, author of Grounding

Weight: 232g
Dimension: 129 x 198 x 21 (mm)
ISBN-13: 9781783966998