
Wavewalker
Breaking Free
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Narrated by:
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Suzanne Heywood
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By:
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Suzanne Heywood
About this listen
A TIMES BEST MEMOIR OF 2023
‘Grippingly vivid and pacey’ THE TIMES
‘A seven-year old girl on a seventy-foot yacht, for ten years, over fifty thousand miles of sailing’ SIMON WINCHESTER
'An astonishing almost day-by-day account of [a] hazardous journey and its legacy’ TELEGRAPH
‘This is a story of an epic childhood journey, so exciting and so shocking it is hard to know whether you’re reading about a dream or a nightmare… Wavewalker is thrilling, horrifying, beautifully written – I couldn’t put it down’ ED BALLS
Aged just seven, Suzanne Heywood set sail with her parents and brother on a three-year voyage around the world. What followed turned instead into a decade-long way of life, through storms, shipwrecks, reefs and isolation, with little formal schooling. No one else knew where they were most of the time and no state showed any interest in what was happening to the children.
Suzanne fought her parents, longing to return to England and to education and stability. This memoir covers her astonishing upbringing, a survival story of a child deprived of safety, friendships, schooling and occasionally drinking water… At seventeen Suzanne earned an interview at Oxford University and returned to the UK.
From the bestselling author of What Does Jeremy Think?, Wavewalker is the incredible true story of how the adventure of a lifetime became one child’s worst nightmare – and how her determination to educate herself enabled her to escape
‘A classic memoir of childhood. This is a book that every parent should read to consider the consequences of their midlife crises, and every child should read to learn how to deal with impossible mums and dads, as well as boils and barnacles’ Mail on Sunday 5*
‘An electrifying story about an extraordinary childhood, and Heywood tells it with remarkable clarity and assurance . . . an engrossing book that pitches the reader into the highs and lows of a young life spent in the “Wavewalker School of the Sea”’TLS
©2023 Suzanne Heywood (P)2023 HarperCollins Publishers LimitedRelated to this topic
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What listeners say about Wavewalker
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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- marilu fabi
- 05-30-23
Inspiring
It is an inspiring autobiography of resilience and might that will take you around the world. Fascinating.
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- Anonymous User
- 08-04-23
Amazing
An incredible story useful for parenthood, engaging and full of hope. One of the best books I've read this year
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- ilva
- 04-24-23
Enjoyed it
The author's writing is beautiful, vividly capturing the awe-inspiring majesty of the ocean and the harsh realities of life on a yacht. This is a must-read for anyone who loves adventure stories, but also for those who are interested in the power of the human spirit to triumph over adversity.
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