Overview

'Fascinating' Observer 'Engrossing' i News 'Elegant' Sunday Telegraph 'Profound and poignant' Sunday Post 'Remarkable and complex' George McGavin A memoir and investigation exploring loss, community and the climate crisis in the Shetland Islands by environmental journalist Marianne Brown. 'The Shetland Way offers a fascinating insight into a unique place that holds past and future in uneasy tension, written with clarity and rooted in deep affection – not only for the islands but for the broader land and elements on which we all depend' THE OBSERVER How do we balance our needs with the needs of the natural world around us? How can we have nuanced conversations and debate in a time of extreme activism or extreme denial? How can we begin to understand the complexities of a subject as enormous as climate change? And how can we change the way we live to save our lives? This is one woman's story of how her quest to make peace with her father's death brought her straight to the heart of a challenging debate about how we save the planet. When Marianne Brown arrived in Voe, Shetland, to attend the funeral of her father, she had packed enough clothes to last a short trip. But this was February 2020, just weeks before the UK’s first lockdown, and she would be unable to leave for another six months. Shetland is a place bound together by community, history and culture. But when a huge windfarm is greenlit to export energy to mainland Scotland, it creates rifts between neighbours, friends and even families. One side supports the benefit to a planet spiralling into climate disaster; the other challenges the impact on an environment with an already struggling wildlife population. As an environmental journalist, Marianne is drawn to investigate this story of sustainable energy that is irrevocably tied to her grief. But nothing is ever straightforward, and she soon finds herself on a transformative journey into the heart of a debate that mirrors global concerns about how we save the planet.

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9780008596156

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Reviews

‘It is a quite remarkable and complex book. What starts out as a seemingly straightforward lockdown narrative quickly become so much more. It draws you in because, at its heart, it's about what makes us human. It's about longing and belonging – about the perception of progress and profit and potential, unquantifiable loss. It's a reminder that there are two sides to everything and all you held to be true might not be so clear-cut as you imagined' George McGavin, author of The Hidden World

'Offers a fascinating insight into a unique place that holds past and future in uneasy tension, written with clarity and rooted in deep affection – not only for the islands but for the broader land and elements on which we all depend' Observer 'Engrossing' i News 'As she weaves her clear love of Shetland lore and history with the clear-sightedness and functional gaze of a climate expert, Brown crafts a timely and balanced book that offers a unique insight into a debate whose relevance is only going to grow in the coming years' The Times 'An elegant look at the pros and cons of Shetland’s wind farms' Sunday Telegraph 'Has a relevance that goes well beyond Shetland… offers much to enjoy and much to chew upon' The Scotsman ‘A quite remarkable and complex book… It draws you in because, at its heart, it's about what makes us human. It's about longing and belonging – about the perception of progress and profit and potential, unquantifiable loss. It's a reminder that there are two sides to everything and all you held to be true might not be so clear-cut as you imagined' George McGavin, author of The Hidden World 'Important and very readable… not an investigation as such, it is an impression with a strong theme of listening – exactly what has been missing from the bitter dispute over whether Viking was the right move to secure the future of what we all call home' Shetland News 'In February 2020, environmental journalist Marianne Brown returned to her father's native Shetland for his funeral. This striking blend of memoir and environmental science is an alluring account of the six months she spent there, unable to leave due to lockdown. It was a transformative time, not only in bringing her closer to her mysterious father, but also because it propelled her into the heart of the debate over a huge proposed windfarm, forcing her to weigh the benefits to the planet against the environmental impact on a community she had come to love' The Bookseller, Editor's Choice

Author Information

Raised in Edinburgh, Marianne Brown spent many years working as a journalist in Southeast Asia and later in Britain as the editor of an environmental magazine. She now works for a community-owned renewable energy cooperative based in Bristol. She lives in Devon and can often be found running on the moor or gardening with her partner and young daughter.

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