This month – we consider “On Whale Island:  Notes from a Place I Never Meant to Leave “

After Daniel Hays and his father built a twenty-five-foot boat and sailed it around Cape Horn, he thought he’d finally put his wanderlust to rest. He went back to school, bought a house, took a job, and got married.

Daniel took his love for the sea and his need to escape civilization and pushed it further: he bought an island off the coast of Nova Scotia; built a tiny house; packed up his wife and stepson, two dogs, and three boatloads of supplies; and moved there.

But, being an adult is tough for some.  Daniel starts the book by ruminating about his dream of living on a remote island.   This is another story about leaving the modern world behind and those that can’t get settled – blah, blah, blah.   A book that is appealing to some, but not others.  The story is about a year on the island and  preparations for it.   He tells a good story with bumbling humor and good wordsmith.   He is not afraid of poking fun at himself.

Daniel generates electricity from solar power and a terrifying windmill, funnels rainwater for their showers, creates a toilet seat out of a whale vertebra, strings their bed up on pulleys so that by day it can be lifted out of the way.  But while Daniel loves this permanent boy’s life, his wife longs for the life they left behind, and his spirited stepson is feeling isolated.  Eventually, only Daniel sees the joys of the lifestyle.

The story is funny, tender, and fascinating.   It is an “unconventional life” for many modern inhabitants.  Although a lot of people live remote lifestyles, Daniel does a great job of telling his story.   If you can get past the boring ruminating about “taking the leap” to live on the island and the endless prattling on about how much he hates being an adult, you will be rewarded with a great story and some very good writing.

This is the story of how the Hays family lived on Whale Island, and how, finally, they had to leave.

I recommend.

Let me know if you have any suggested reads!   Have you read On Whale Island?  Post your thoughts below!