Join Linda Cracknell on Thursday 23rd May to celebrate the publication of her new book Doubling Back.
Across Norway, Kenya, the Isle of Skye and Lindisfarne, Doubling Back traces the contours of history. Following paths long mythologised by writers and relatives gone before, Linda Cracknell charts how places immortalised in writing and memory create portals; wrinkles in time and geography that allow us to walk in the footsteps of others.
In these essays, Linda traverses the dangerous crevasses of the Swiss alps to retrace the mountaineering past of the father she barely knew, follows the escape route of a Norwegian scientist on the run in the second world war, and celebrates the simple joy found in the ‘friendly paths’ of her local, regular terrain, and the ritual of returning home.
Originally published in 2014 to rave reviews and serialised on BBC radio, this revised edition includes an account of a new journey through northern Scotland’s Flow Country, the peatland that is our chief Carbon store. As the century is almost one quarter through, Linda doubles back once more to reflect on our future on this fragile Earth.
Linda Cracknell is a writer of narrative nonfiction on the natural world, as well as of fiction and radio scripts. Landscape, place, nature, and memory are key themes in her work. Her first story collection was nominated for Scotland’s National Book Awards and the Robin Jenkins Literary Award for environmental writing. She teaches nature and place writing as well as creative fiction writing. Her most recent book Writing Landscape, published by Saraband in 2023, is a mindful and embodied exploration of the process of nature writing.
Doubling Back and Writing Landscape will be available to purchase on the night.
Enjoy a glass of wine on arrival with light refreshments and live music.
