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A review by kmardahl
Wavewalker: Breaking Free by Suzanne Heywood
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
5.0
I read the Guardian article by Suzanne Heywood written when this book came out. Reading the article (https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2023/mar/25/suzanne-heywood-round-the-world-sailing-trip-stolen-childhood) made me sign up for the audiobook on Libby from my library. I had to wait around 8 weeks, but it was worth it.
I was swept up by the story from the start. The writing was good although the story itself is front and center as it is with memoirs. It started out fairly innocent, although the article had taught me this was no ordinary sailing adventure. It wasn't long before I became angry at her parents and stayed angry for the rest of the book. The bullying - my term - that she experienced at the hands of her mother was awful. The father's carefree and reckless approach to life on the ocean shocked me. He did know how to sail, but the decisions he made - and I do speak as a landlubber - seemed arrogant, and they almost cost Suzanne Heywood's life. I am quite impressed at the author's resilience, but still - does a child have to go through hell and high water to prove how resilient they are?? The author did see beautiful sights and have amazing nature experiences at sea, but the bad experiences cast a shadow over those so it was hard to say "what an amazing experience" or "what a beautiful experience" after reading the book. I am more inclined to say "poor child" or "poor neglected child". I would classify the bullying and general treatment as child abuse.
The author is truly telling her story from her point of view. She is not out to point fingers at her parents. The experiences tell the tale however. Her love of the boat is quite moving and quite logical, if I dare use such a dry word. Wavewalker was Heywood's home and companion through all those years. There is a deep connection there. That was driven home in the last part of the book. I listened to the end of the book as I waited on the platform for my train to work. I heard that the narrator was the author herself. I had never paid attention to the narrator's name before. In fact, I had felt slight negative toward the narrator at first. When she spoke lines for the seven-year-old Suzanne, the tone was that of a seven-year-old. I wondered if that was overdoing it a bit. The childish tone disappeared as the story developed. Later, I considered that it was actually appropriate with the childish tone because it was how a seven-year-old would have spoken. In addition, the tone was one of a child seeking love and attention from a parent, which felt even more poignant and painful as time went on. With all that in mind, and with the closing commentary about the boat itself at the end, I felt tears well up in my mind and I had a lump in my throat. I had listened to Suzanne Heywood tell me her story in her voice for all those hours. I was impressed by her bravery and her strength in breaking free. I blinked and swallowed a few times before continuing on my mundane trip to the office. The story will stick with me for a very, very long time.
I was swept up by the story from the start. The writing was good although the story itself is front and center as it is with memoirs. It started out fairly innocent, although the article had taught me this was no ordinary sailing adventure. It wasn't long before I became angry at her parents and stayed angry for the rest of the book. The bullying - my term - that she experienced at the hands of her mother was awful. The father's carefree and reckless approach to life on the ocean shocked me. He did know how to sail, but the decisions he made - and I do speak as a landlubber - seemed arrogant, and they almost cost Suzanne Heywood's life. I am quite impressed at the author's resilience, but still - does a child have to go through hell and high water to prove how resilient they are?? The author did see beautiful sights and have amazing nature experiences at sea, but the bad experiences cast a shadow over those so it was hard to say "what an amazing experience" or "what a beautiful experience" after reading the book. I am more inclined to say "poor child" or "poor neglected child". I would classify the bullying and general treatment as child abuse.
The author is truly telling her story from her point of view. She is not out to point fingers at her parents. The experiences tell the tale however. Her love of the boat is quite moving and quite logical, if I dare use such a dry word. Wavewalker was Heywood's home and companion through all those years. There is a deep connection there. That was driven home in the last part of the book. I listened to the end of the book as I waited on the platform for my train to work. I heard that the narrator was the author herself. I had never paid attention to the narrator's name before. In fact, I had felt slight negative toward the narrator at first. When she spoke lines for the seven-year-old Suzanne, the tone was that of a seven-year-old. I wondered if that was overdoing it a bit. The childish tone disappeared as the story developed. Later, I considered that it was actually appropriate with the childish tone because it was how a seven-year-old would have spoken. In addition, the tone was one of a child seeking love and attention from a parent, which felt even more poignant and painful as time went on. With all that in mind, and with the closing commentary about the boat itself at the end, I felt tears well up in my mind and I had a lump in my throat. I had listened to Suzanne Heywood tell me her story in her voice for all those hours. I was impressed by her bravery and her strength in breaking free. I blinked and swallowed a few times before continuing on my mundane trip to the office. The story will stick with me for a very, very long time.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Bullying, Emotional abuse, and Abandonment