“All boats are sinking, Hannah, just at different rates.”

After a break-up, some hit the gym; some cut their hair; others have a one-night stand. In the aftermath of her break-up, Hannah bought a narrowboat.

Newly single and plunged into life on the water, Hannah had to learn quickly how to grapple with exploding toilets, disappearing hulls, and the curious glances and questions from pedestrians on the towpath. But when career burn-out, a global pandemic and an ill-advised rebound relationship threatened to sink her, Hannah felt the need to escape. In a bid to let go of the past and restore her sense of self-worth, she embarked on a narrowboat odyssey which took her from the bustling streets of London to the tranquil yet dramatic waterways of West Yorkshire.

Suffering from an apparent magnetism to drama but buoyed by her brilliant friends, Hannah tells of the challenges of off-grid life as a single 30-something on the water. All this as she tries to balance the tension between owning her singledom and giving in to a deep desire to find love.

Peppered with lists, recipes, maps, footnotes and diagrams, and spanning hundreds of miles of the British waterways, it’s an uplifting and often hilarious story of adventure and personal growth, and of a woman trying to keep her boat and life afloat. And to answer that perennial question: yes, it’s cold on the boat in winter.

My Thoughts:

After things go wrong in Hannah’s life, she puts her best foot forward and buys a narrowboat. What Hannah does not realise is that narrowboats need a lot of work doing to them to keep them stay afloat basically like what she is doing. She is determined to view places in England she has never seen before but she faces new challenges along the way. I have to say it was not a book I thought I would enjoy but I really got to know Hannah through out this story and really felt as though she was a friend at the end. My knowledge on narrowboats is barely existent so it was wonderful to read about and learn something new. It is a mixed emotion bag where one minute you feel sorry for Hannah and then the next you are laughing along with her. A must read for anyone who is thinking about navigating their life on a different path.

I received an ARC copy of this book for an honest review.

Get your copy here: