I love this book! I love the beautifully poetic way it’s written and how it’s descriptions form in a real emotionally, tender way. It’s written with great expressive details. It’s so descriptive, I felt like I was there, I felt immersed in the environment as I read. I found some of the experiences stirred uncomfortable emotions within me in its truths and on the other hand, soul soothing with its honesty throughout the book. as if I was sat by the fireside enjoying its honest warmth.

This is a memoir that tells of Rebecca’s travels all over the world in her fathers boat. Although you can tell her dad loves Becky, he’s by far not the greatest influence or father figure. However, life is filled with a lot of experiences that can support survival and empowerment. Rebecca shows avid strength.

I felt the honesty in this memoir and I loved the last paragraph! Thanks so much to NetGalley for allowing me to read this book, I’m so pleased I was given the chance to give my honest review.

Really heartwarming and engaging book. Thank you for an advanced copy of this book, I really enjoyed it and will be recommending.

This is a very descriptive coming-of-age memoir of growing up on a sailboat and traveling the world. The author's writing is so beautiful at times and makes you feel like you can smell the ocean and feel the waves. This one pulled at my heartstrings.

If you enjoy memoirs and adventures, be sure to check out The Shell and the Octopus.

A meandering memoir. The author’s father led a vagabond existence, mostly on a boat. She traveled with him and records most of her experiences.
It’s an interesting read, but the writing is a bit disjointed. I got lost and a bit confused at times within the narrative.

A memoir about growing up on a sailboat with a turbulent, charismatic freedom-seeking father. First with her mother and sisters, and then alone with her dad, Rebecca Stirling sails around the world.. Along the way she visits beautiful locations, meets a variety of people, falls in love, and struggles to figure out a woman's place in the masculine world of sailing. Much of that struggle is with her own father who is a chauvinist and renegade.
I enjoyed the travelogue sections most. Descriptions of life on a sailboat and descriptions of seaports were rich and descriptive. But attempts to write about her emotional life felt sophomoric and often fell into 'telling not showing.' I never felt I really understood her relationship with her father, although it is at the centre of this book. Also, while Stirling does work to acknowledge the effects of colonialism and US imperialism on cultures around the world, much of the sailing ethos and search for freedom still felt very rooted in unacknowledged privilege.
Nevertheless, I found the book mostly engaging albeit with uneven writing until the last few chapters when Stirling shifts to 2015 onward, describing the end of her marriage and a return to her father's way of life. It devolves into generic self-help, self-discovery drivel that, while I have no doubt was powerful to experience, was painful to read.
Thanks to NetGalley and She Writes Press for an advanced copy.

The Shell and the Octopus
A Memoir
by Rebecca Stirling
Pub Date 26 Jul 2022
She Writes Press
Biographies & Memoirs | Outdoors & Nature


I am reviewing a copy of The Shell and The Octopus through She Writes Press and Netgalley:





Rebecca Stirling had what was far from a traditional upbringing. She was raised by the sea, by men and by literature. She circumvented the world on a thirty four foot sailboat, the Stirlings spend weeks at a time on the open ocean, surviving storms and visiting uncharted islands and villages. Ushered through her young life by a father who loves adventure, women, and extremes, Rebecca befriends “working girls” in the ports they visit (as they are often the only other females present in the bars that they end up in) and, on the boat, falls in love with her crewmate and learns to live like the men around her.





Having a driven nature and reading about successful women in the books she reads makes Rebecca determined to be a lady, continue her education, begin a career, live in a real home, and begin a family of her own. When Rebecca finally gets away from the boat and her dad and sets to work upon making her own dream a reality, however, Rebecca begins to realize life is not what she thought it would be and when her father dies in a tragic accident, she must return to her old life to sift through the mess and magic he has left behind.



I give The Shell and the Octopus five out of five stars!



Happy Reading!

The author writes in very descriptive detail the journey of her life on a sailboat. As someone who has always wondered about this choice of lifestyle, I appreciated the great detail in her writing. At times, I felt as if I were right there seeing and experiencing the things she did. I learned that it's definitely not the life for me. I should stick to day sails only.

From her first memories to adulthood, we follow the author through her journey to find happiness and her self. From land to sea. I thoroughly enjoyed my travel by book that the author has provided. The islands, villages, natives and the lifestyles.

There are some "R" rated scenes in her travels. However, she writes those areas of her life in so they don't sound raunchy.

I enjoyed following the authors journey. If you were or are interested in the sailing lifestyle, I would highly recommend this book.