Homesick: Why I Live in a Shed

(Paperback)

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Description

The story of a personal housing crisis that led to a discovery of the true value of home.

*'You will marvel at the beauty of this book, and rage at the injustice it reveals' George Monbiot*

*'Incredibly moving. To find peace and a sense of home after a life so profoundly affected by the housing crisis, is truly inspirational' Raynor Winn, bestselling author of The Salt Path*

Aged thirty-one, Catrina Davies was renting a box-room in a house in Bristol, which she shared with four other adults and a child. Working several jobs and never knowing if she could make the rent, she felt like she was breaking apart.

Homesick for the landscape of her childhood, in the far west of Cornwall, Catrina decides to give up the box-room and face her demons. As a child, she saw her family and their security torn apart; now, she resolves to make a tiny, dilapidated shed a home of her own.

With the freedom to write, surf and make music, Catrina rebuilds the shed and, piece by piece, her own sense of self. On the border of civilisation and wilderness, between the woods and the sea, she discovers the true value of home, while trying to find her place in a fragile natural world.

This is the story of a personal housing crisis and a country-wide one, grappling with class, economics, mental health and nature. It shows how housing can trap us or set us free, and what it means to feel at home.

Reviews

You will marvel at the beauty of this book, and rage at the injustice it reveals. - George Monbiot

An incredibly moving book. To find peace and a sense of home between the sea and the stars after a life so profoundly affected by the housing crisis, is truly inspirational. - Raynor Winn, bestselling author of The Salt Path

Poignant, honest and very timely - a report from the edges of a fraying culture. - Paul Kingsnorth, author of Beast

This book is star witness for a generation whose lives have been so injured by the housing crisis. It is funny and furious, tender and true. - Jay Griffiths, prize-winning author of Wild

A memoir full of heart and soul. Passionate and perceptive, Davies writes with great insight about the past, her childhood, her relationship with the sea and the land. Homesick is a moving, thoughtful and joyful book. - James Macdonald Lockhart, prize-winning author of Raptor

A marvel, a tonic of wildness - Homesick is a gently powerful and deeply beautiful read - Hugh Warwick, author of Linescapes

Author Bio

Catrina Davies was born in Snowdonia and grew up around Land's End, Cornwall. She has worked as a DJ, gardener, circus cellist, cleaner, TEFL teacher, dog walker, flower-picker, builder and waitress. She has also released two records. Her first book The Ribbons are for Fearlessness is a memoir about busking from Norway to Portugal. Homesick is her second book.