A WATERSTONES NATURE AND TRAVEL BEST BOOK OF 2023 SHORTLISTED FOR THE 2023 HIGHLAND BOOK PRIZE LONGLISTED FOR THE WAINWRIGHT NATURE WRITING PRIZE 2023 'Modern, revealing and restorative, a coastal treasure' Amy Liptrot 'Like its talismanic title, Huband's voice is distinct and singular. A gorgeous reckoning with the sea, islands and mythology' Sinéad Gleeson 'A wild melding of body and landscape. A deep, immersive, storm-tossed read' Helen Jukes 'As vital and complex as the oceans themseleves' Joanna Pocock A powerful journey of sea and self, trial and hope on the islands of Shetland On the storm-tossed beaches of the Shetland Archipelago, Sally Huband is searching. A message in a bottle, a mermaid’s purse, a lobster trap tag, each find connects her more deeply with our oceans. But it is Sally’s quest for a fabled sea bean that unlocks the myths of these islands and carries her through chronic illness towards a new and more resilient self.