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At times heartbreaking at others uplifting and life affirming. Thunderstone shows us how to find beauty all around us even under the most difficult circumstances, it asks the tough questions about how to live through the life's storms with authenticity. Some mornings I am a vessel that has hairline fractures running through it — I have to hold my poise gently, to avoid all the pieces falling, to avoid spilling. The pain of being in the world is almost unbearable, at the same time as I want more than ever to hang on to life. In the last few years I have seen how swiftly everything can be snatched away.’ This book tells the story of a time all of us will, in one way or another, be affected by always. A time that changed us, and the world, and how we are in that world — forever. It is also a story of life after loss; of the love of small things; of art & food & travel & companionship. At its heart, though, it is the story of a strong, independent, caring person who finds themselves at a cusp moment — a difficult crossroads — and who takes the road (canal path) less travelled. It is about that person and their van, their safe space; their home. Lulah Ellender says:‘In this beautiful memoir Campbell traces a season of upheaval, grief and uncertainty as she makes a home in an unusual place… An uplifting, heart-filled read full of hope and love.’ Sarah Bodman and Nancy Campbell- Dinner & A Rose". Notts Book Arts. 11 August 2022 . Retrieved 13 September 2023.
I do visit, and not just with laundry – but because after all we’ve been through together she’s my best friend. An utterly beautiful, life affirming, soul shaking, heart-breaking wonder of a book. […] This is a humbling, honest, raw and deeply moving book that reminds us what it means to be alive.’ Kerri ní Dochartaigh, author of Thin PlacesAs 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. A memoir of great honesty and clarity, intimacy and subtlety… It asks profound questions about how to live through the storms of life with authenticity.’ Gavin Francis, author of Adventures in Human Being / Recovery: The Lost Art of Convalescence Those first weeks were terrifying. It was hard to see someone so independent needing help with daily tasks. Can a paralysed limb feel pain? Where did those big bruises keep coming from? The changes to Anna’s body were apparent, but what went through her mind? This raw, honest account of semi-urban caravan life offers a valuable lesson in how to find beauty and wonder even in the most trying of circumstances […] she is wonderfully alert to every nuance of every experience, and writes with joyous precision about the summer she sees unfolding all around her.’ The Scotsman
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 cat's eyes ahead of me on a dark road.' It could never be plain sailing, of course; life simply does not work like that, and there are still moments of pain; ‘All the homes I’ve ever had are haunting me here. All the potential lives I moved on from – the places I might still be.’ Helen Jukes says:‘If this is a story of grief and illness, loneliness and heartache, one is left with the feeling that here is a writer who knows better than most of us how to live.’ The other two shortlisted books were Edward Chisholm’s A Waiter in Paris (Monoray) and Thea Lenarduzzi’s Dandelions (Fitzcarraldo Editions). It was for me an extremely powerful, heartwrenching and truthful read. It is not all doom and gloom however, don’t get me wrong! Some of this felt joyous to me, there are so many little wins in this book and the beauty of nature and living in it and having it surround you was wonderful too.
Gavin Francis says:‘A memoir of great honesty and clarity, intimacy and subtlety, examining, among other things, illness and recovery.It asks profound questions about the precarity of health, of art, and how to live through the storms of life with authenticity.’ Did you know there’s a bounty on magpies now?’ Aislin says. ‘They’re so common. We could have magpie pie instead of pigeon pie.’
Life has a way of throwing curveballs at you when you least expect it; I know I am living through one of them at the moment. For Nancy Campbell though it came in three parts. Firstly there was the pandemic, this huge disrupter to life as we had known it. On top of that, she had a phone call whilst she was in Germany. It was a call that could not be ignored and it was to tell her that her partner had had a stroke. The final curveball for her was knowing that their relationship had reached an end. Nancy write poetically and describes rusty little utopia in ways that make me yearn for my little camper in the woods. I’m glad I read this as the snow is melting here so that I know I too can take refuge from the world in my tiny shelter. During the pandemic, people spoke of things never returning to the way they were. Likewise, those who experience life-changing events often say they discover a “new normal”. 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 cat’s eyes ahead of me on a dark road.’
Summary
What it means to be human, to be ill, to be in communion with all with which we share this earth. A diary of time spent in a van; time that changed a life. But really this gift of a book is about healing, love, life, how we dance through the songs we are given — no matter how dark or troubling the lines may be. A beautiful and often very funny account of hope and healing in the face of illness and uncertainty.’ TLS The Library of Ice: Readings from a Cold Climate, Simon and Schuster, 2018, ISBN 9781471169311 - longlisted for the Rathbones Folio Prize. [6] Nancy Campbell is a British poet, non-fiction writer and publisher of artist's books. Her first collection of poetry, Disko Bay (2015), was shortlisted for the Forward Prize for Best First Collection. [1] Other works include The Library of Ice (2018) and Fifty Words for Snow (2020). In 2018, she was appointed Canal Laureate by the Poetry Society and the Canal & River Trust. [2] In 2021 she received the Royal Geographical Society Ness Award for environmental writing. [3] Early life and education [ edit ]
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