This is a bold-hearted and brave-minded book. 'There is a great deal of frank, flinch-making writing in this book, but it is always balanced by a sublimity and graciousness that is rare. Amy Liptrot is the real deal, a writer whose voice seems fully formed on the page, and I can't wait to read what she writes next' ( Independent on Sunday) She ties in elements of myth and fantasy, some of the islands' remarkable history, and her own visceral experience to create something as compelling as any thriller.

Her descriptive writing of the islands and their wildlife absolutely sizzles, a scintillating mix of clear-eyed insight and poetic heart. Her beautiful first book gives a wonderfully evocative account of both, blending searing memoir with sublime nature writing, and coming up with a unique piece of prose that amounts to a stirring personal philosophy of how to live. 'Amy Liptrot has lived her life on the edge of things, both literally and metaphorically. Wherever she journeys next, you will want to go with her' ( New Statesman)

Liptrot is an Orcadian warrior with the breeze in her blood and poetry in her fingers, and The Outrun may even be a future classic. ' The Outrun will no doubt sit alongside Richard Mabey's Nature Cure and Helen Macdonald's H Is for Hawk - the sheer sensuality of Liptrot's prose and her steely resolve immediately put her right up there with the best of the best.

one of the most scabrously honest, sassy and moving books about addiction and recovery that I have read' ( Scotsman) Anyone who has ever been unhappy or unwise will find much that resonates in this powerful, beautiful writing' (CATHY RENTZENBRINK Stylist) I enjoyed this book enormously' (WILL SELF Guardian) It's Liptrot's aptitude for marrying her inner-space with wild outer-spaces that makes her such a compelling writer.

The outrun book review