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An Island to Oneself, by Tom Neale
This is the author’s true story about the time he spent living alone on a small Pacific island, and was first published in 1966. It was popular among yachties, adventurers and those who enjoy an incredible survival journey. Roll on to 2024 and it has been republished with a 30-page update, so we now know how the rest of Neale’s life panned out.
This kiwi bloke kept meticulous diaries and used these as a basis for this inspiring yarn. He was in his 50s when he first realised his dream to live in isolation and by his own wits. Neale was blessed with practical skills and was able to survive using available food, stores, his own garden and chooks, and the occasional item that washed up on the beach. Although he liked people, he never felt lonely. He just didn’t like “the rat race”.
Suvarov, 515 miles north of Rarotonga, was in the 1950s off the beaten track and rarely visited, and had no outside communication. Tom is generous with describing his life, including why this lifestyle was his preference, and the inevitable challenges both physical and emotional. One major challenge on his arrival was disposing of five wild pigs without a gun or dogs. Another was ensuring his living quarters and food sources would survive storms and hurricanes.
Well written, the story moves along at an easy pace with unexpected revelations in the epilogue. Overall, highly recommended.
Reviewed by Barbara Leslie
The Lighthouse Secret, by Carmel Harrington
In 1950s Ballycotton, Cork, life as a lighthouse keeper’s wife could be a tumultuous one. The keepers work a three-week roster with only a week on the mainland in between, so it falls to the women to have each other’s backs.
There is Kathleen married to the principal keeper, feeling alone in her marriage when a smooth talking American makes her the object of his attentions. Her eldest daughter Beth, is torn between travelling the world and marrying her first love, lighthouse keeper Ted. Ellen is struggling to secure her children’s security in the aftermath of tragedy, and newlywed Mary, desperately in love with her husband, but with a past full of secrets.
The sisterly bonds formed between these women are fiercely strong. Then on one fateful day, an oath of secrecy is sworn which they vow to take to their graves. But someone knows what happened that summer in 1951, and it seems they’re not happy keeping silent.
In modern day Maine, 35-year-old Mollie is at a crossroads in life. Her marriage is under strain with fertility struggles, so she heads to the comfort of family on the windswept shores of Cork. It should have been a place of solace, but an anonymous letter changes the whole course of her holiday; “Family secrets never stay buried”. Of the four keepers’ wives, only Nana Beth remains, but will she break her vow? This heart-warming family drama, turns into a page-turning mystery.
Reviewed by Abby Soffe
