Life Lessons From Explorers: Learn how to weather life’s storms from history’s greatest explorers (Welbeck, 2021)
I'm so proud of this book!
It was released back in July but after some complex logistics I only just got my hands on a physical copy - and it's beautiful! Huge thanks to Isabel Wilkinson at Welbeck Publishing for producing such a lovely thing.
The book was such a joy to work on. The aim was to delve a little deeper into well-known stories to provide a fresh perspective, but also to shine a spotlight on some lesser-known stories that have the ability to be both surprising and thought-provoking.
Some highlights for me were discovering the extraordinary humanity of Neil Armstrong, learning about happiness and simple joy from Agatha Christie, exploring the incredible life of Olaudah Equiano, taking a look at Amelia Earhart's attitude to risk, breaking down the tragic resilience of David Livingstone...and so much more!
It was also an exciting thrill to be able to select some truly inspiring images to accompany the text, from extracts taken from the field notebooks of Gertrude Bell or Charles Darwin, to snapshots of ground-breaking machines that have carried humans to the depths of the oceans and to the edge of space.
In all, I came away with a new stock of memorable quotes, snatches of profound wisdom and, most of all, a renewed belief in the pure brilliance of human beings and the importance of nurturing our inner explorer.
The book is available across the UK in all the usual places (as a hardback) and will be released in the US later this year. If you have a copy, I'm eager to hear what you thought of it...!