Joined in 2023 
82 
63 About this deal
It was for me an extremely powerful, heartwrenching and truthful read. It is not all doom and gloom however, don’t get me wrong! Some of this felt joyous to me, there are so many little wins in this book and the beauty of nature and living in it and having it surround you was wonderful too. This book is a keeper, quietly powerful, calming and eloquent. The lyrical beauty of the words wash over and through you as you read. Not to be missed. Helen Jukes says:‘If this is a story of grief and illness, loneliness and heartache, one is left with the feeling that here is a writer who knows better than most of us how to live.’
As summer begins, Nancy embraces the challenge of how to live well in a space in which possessions and emotions often threaten to tumble. And as illness and uncertainty loom once more, it is this anchored van that will bring her solace and hope.a b c "Book review: Fifty Words for Snow, by Nancy Campbell". www.scotsman.com . Retrieved 18 October 2021. Forward Arts Foundation in Conversation with Nancy Campbell". Forward Arts Foundation . Retrieved 18 October 2021. Those first weeks were terrifying. It was hard to see someone so independent needing help with daily tasks. I’ve just cleared enough ground to live on…The walls are thin as a Kinder Egg. There’s just enough space to stand up…I know the shelves will fill up with books and belongings and things from the woods. But now there is just one object I want to carry inside…It was believed lightning would not strike a house that held a thunderstone…I place it on the windowsill…its surface gleaming like cat’s eyes ahead of me on a dark road.’ An intimate journal across the space of a defining summer, Nancy Campbell’s memoir is celebration of the people and places that hold us when the storms gather; a soul-shaking journey that reminds us what it is to be alive.
Yet soon, Nancy’s encounters with the community of boaters moored nearby, and their lessons in survival off-grid, prove fundamental. The wasteland burgeons into a place of wild beauty, as Nancy works to clear industrial junk and create a forest garden. And as illness and uncertainty loom once more, it is these unconventional relationships, this anchored van, that will bring her solace and hope.How does Nancy Campbell respond to such overwhelming, scary uncertainty? With creative insight and with a zest for life, of course…She buys a van, clears the ground she has been offered, and builds a home. An utterly beautiful, life affirming, soul shaking, heart-breaking wonder of a book. […] This is a humbling, honest, raw and deeply moving book that reminds us what it means to be alive.’ Kerri ní Dochartaigh, author of Thin Places Nancy write poetically and describes rusty little utopia in ways that make me yearn for my little camper in the woods. I’m glad I read this as the snow is melting here so that I know I too can take refuge from the world in my tiny shelter.
Throughout her book we are treated to poetic details on the impact of human activity on our nature spaces and how it is possible to live alongside peacefully. “As I’m falling asleep, I listen to the trains pass, making a banshee scream or a sound like a bullet that pierces the van. Sometimes in the hush that follows I catch another sound, a faint electronic sigh, as the points change. The trains make the wildness. Without the occasional scream and the shaking, I would not appreciate the silence and stillness.” If this is a story of grief and illness, loneliness and heartache, one is left with the feeling that here is a writer who knows better than most of us how to live.’ Helen Jukes, author of A Honeybee Heart Has Five Openings Some mornings I am a vessel that has hairline fractures running through it — I have to hold my poise gently, to avoid all the pieces falling, to avoid spilling. The pain of being in the world is almost unbearable, at the same time as I want more than ever to hang on to life. In the last few years I have seen how swiftly everything can be snatched away.’ Campbell cares for her partner until the moment comes when they both know they must physically separate, and she must find a small stretch of land on which to place herself. All of this amid a severe Housing Crisis. Her new friend Sven asks ‘ What do you want with always moving from place to place? You need to settle down and get on with your life.’Written in journal form, the book not only covers Nancy’s day to day life, it also introduces us to some fabulous characters such as Sven and the assassin, and includes wider research about the history and other facts concerning Oxford and the surrounding area. I have to say that Sven was portrayed as a wonderful person; I wish I had my own Sven in my life! As I retreat through the nettles to my van at two in the morning, I overhear the assassin lecturing an acolyte. ‘There are two hundred species of brambles,’ he says. ‘Brambles are extremely useful in forensics. You can tell how long a body has been dead by the rate of bramble growth. Assuming the body was found in a clump of brambles, of course.’
Great Deal 
New Comment