Life Boat

A powerful personal memoir of healing from Emma Reed Turrell, psychotherapist and host of the Dial Emma podcast.

We were sitting at the kitchen table when my husband told me he wanted to separate. After that, there was nothing in the house that could hold me. So I went to the sea.

What can we do when life gets stormy? Emma Reed Turrell’s life had felt steady and settled, until it didn’t. In this lyrical and compassionate book, she explores a time in her life when everything changed: her mother’s illness and death, the collapse of her marriage, her diagnosis of autism. She charts what it means to endure difficult times and build resilience; how to hold together a life that no longer feels like it belongs to you.

Emma sought solace by the sea, walking along the beach with her dog and looking out to the line where the sky met the water. She found comfort watching the boats go by, wondering how she could learn to stay afloat.

‘Wise, wholehearted and true: this book is the compass we all need to help us navigate through life’s unpredictable waters.’ Elizabeth Day