The Draw of the Sea [Paperback]

WINNER OF THE HOLYER AN GO AWARD 2023

Wyl Menmuir’sThe Draw of theSea is a beautifully written and deeply moving portrait of the sea and the people whose livelihoods revolve around it, examining the ephemeral but universal pull the sea holds over the human imagination.

Since the earliest stages of human development,the sea has fascinated and entranced us. It feeds us,sustaining communitiesand providing livelihood, but it also holdsimmense destructive powerthat threatens to destroy all we have created.
 
It connects us to faraway places, offering thepromise of new landsand voyages of discovery, but alsoshapes our borders, carving divisions between landmasses anderoding the very ground beneath our feet.

In thislyrical meditationon what it is that draws us to the waters' edge, author Wyl Menmuir tells the stories of thepeople whose lives revolve around the coastline and all it has to offer.

In twelve interlinked chapters, Menmuir explores the lives oflocal fishermen steeped in the rich traditionsof a fishing community, the beachcombers who wander the shores in search of the varied objects that wash ashore and the stories they tell, and all number of others who have made their lives around the sea.

In the specifics of these livelihoods and their rich histories and traditions, Wyl Menmuir captures the universal human connection to the ocean’s edge. Into this seductive tapestry Wyl weaves the story ofhow the sea has beckoned, consoled and restored him.

The Draw of the Seais a meaningful and moving work intohow we interact with the environmentaround us and how it comes toshape the course of our lives. As unmissable as it is compelling, as profound as it is personal, thismust-read bookwill delight anyone familiar with the intimate and powerful pull which lãz