The Shetland Way: Community and Climate Crisis on my Father's Islands
‘Fascinating… written with clarity and rooted in deep affection’ Observer
‘A timely and balanced book that offers a unique insight into a debate whose relevance is only going to grow’ The Times
A memoir and investigation exploring loss, community and the climate crisis in the Shetland Islands by environmental journalist Marianne Brown.
‘Elegant’ Sunday Telegraph
‘Engrossing’ i News
‘Moving’ The Shetland Times
‘A remarkable and complex book about what makes us human’George McGavin
When environmental journalist Marianne Brown arrived in Voe, Shetland, to attend the funeral of her father, she discovered a community on the frontline of the climate crisis.
The construction of a huge windfarm, greenlit to export energy to mainland Scotland, had created rifts – with one side supporting the environmental benefits, and the other opposing the impact on local wildlife.
The Shetland Way is an extraordinary investigation into this story – of sustainability, grief, and a debate that mirrors global concerns about how we save the planet.
'Elegant' Sunday Telegraph -
'Engrossing' i News -
'Moving' The Shetland Times -
'An involved story… Necessary' The Herald -
'A fascinating insight into a unique place that holds past and future in uneasy tension, written with clarity and rooted in deep affection – not only for the islands but for the broader land and elements on which we all depend' Observer -
'As she weaves her clear love of Shetland lore and history with the clear-sightedness and functional gaze of a climate expert, Brown crafts a timely and balanced book that offers a unique insight into a debate whose relevance is only going to grow in the coming years' The Times -
'Has a relevance that goes well beyond Shetland… offers much to enjoy and much to chew upon' The Scotsman -
‘A quite remarkable and complex book… It draws you in because, at its heart, it's about what makes us human. It's about longing and belonging – about the perception of progress and profit and potential, unquantifiable loss. It's a reminder that there are two sides to everything and all you held to be true might not be so clear-cut as you imagined' George McGavin, author of The Hidden World -
'Important and very readable… not an investigation as such, it is an impression with a strong theme of listening – exactly what has been missing from the bitter dispute over whether Viking was the right move to secure the future of what we all call home' Shetland News -
'In February 2020, environmental journalist Marianne Brown returned to her father's native Shetland for his funeral. This striking blend of memoir and environmental science is an alluring account of the six months she spent there, unable to leave due to lockdown. It was a transformative time, not only in bringing her closer to her mysterious father, but also because it propelled her into the heart of the debate over a huge proposed windfarm, forcing her to weigh the benefits to the planet against the environmental impact on a community she had come to love' The Bookseller, Editor's Choice -