A National Bestseller
“A modern classic, one we very much need right now.” –George Saunders
From the acclaimed author of The Shepherd’s Life, a magical work of narrative nonfiction in which James Rebanks reflects on a life-changing summer spent on a remote island off the coast of Norway, where his only companion was an old woman who practiced the ancient tradition of collecting eiderdown from birds that nest on this remarkable landscape each year
We are all in need of lights to follow.
One afternoon many years ago, James Rebanks met an old woman on a remote Norwegian island. She lived and worked alone on a tiny rocky outcrop, caring for wild Eider ducks and gathering their down. Hers was a centuries-old trade that had once made men and women rich but had long been in decline. Still, somehow, she seemed to be hanging on.
Back at home, Rebanks couldn’t stop thinking about the woman on the rocks. She was fierce and otherworldly—and yet strangely familiar. Years passed. Then, one day, he wrote her a letter, asking if he could return. Bring work clothes, she replied, and good boots, and come quickly: her health was failing. And so he travelled to the edge of the Arctic to witness her last season on the island.
This is the story of that season. It is the story of a unique and ancient landscape, and of the woman who brought it back to life. It traces the pattern of her work from the rough, isolated toil of bitter winter to the elation of the endless summer light, when the birds leave behind their precious down for gathering, like feathered gold.
Slowly, Rebanks begins to understand that this woman and her world are not what he had previously thought. What began as a journey of escape becomes an extraordinary lesson in self-knowledge, connection, and forgiveness.
This moving portrait of a vanishing way of life is a profound exploration of what we have lost—and what we can still find.
- A Journey of Self-Discovery: When his own world feels broken, bestselling author James Rebanks travels to the edge of the Arctic, searching for answers in a simpler, more deliberate way of life.
- A Vanishing Way of Life: Witness the final season of an old woman who alone carries on the centuries-old tradition of caring for wild Eider ducks and gathering their precious down.
- Immersive Nature Writing: A vivid portrait of a remote Norwegian island, its harsh beauty, and the rhythms of a life lived in tune with the tides and the seasons.
- An Unforgettable Friendship: Discover the powerful, unspoken connection between two people from different worlds, a bond forged through shared work, quiet understanding, and mutual respect.