The Outrun: Amy Liptrot (Canons)

The Outrun by Amy Liptrot follows the author at the age of thirty as she returns to Orkney, feeling washed up and unsteady back on the island. Back in the place she calls home, she begins to face an addiction that has consumed the previous decade of her life.

Her days take shape around the landscape and weather of Orkney: early mornings spent swimming in the bracingly cold sea, time tracking the islands’ wildlife, and nights looking to the sky for the Merry Dancers. Through these routines and encounters with the natural world, she explores how wild places can help restore life and renew hope.

Key details

• Author: Amy Liptrot
• Canons edition

Synopsis

At thirty, Amy Liptrot returns home to Orkney and tries to come to terms with an addiction that has shaped the last ten years of her life. As she swims in the cold sea, tracks wildlife across the islands and watches for the Merry Dancers at night, she finds in the wild a way towards renewal and hope.