All at Sea

Decca Aitkenhead is an award-winning journalist (Catherine Pakenham Award 1996, Interviewer of the Year in 2009) for The Guardian newspaper, where she interviews leading figures in public life. She was born in Wiltshire in 1971, and studied politics and modern history at Manchester University, where she began her career in journalism at the Manchester Evening News. She has been a columnist and features writer for most national newspapers and magazines, and a regular contributor to BBC radio and television. She lives in rural Kent with her two young sons. In 2000 she wrote a travel book, The Promised Land, about going around the world in search of perfect Ecstasy.

‘If I read a sadder, truer, wiser chapter in a book this year I will count myself fortunate … Aitkenhead’s loss was our gain’ The Times‘An exemplary memoir … However magnificent and powerful the book, you know it pales in comparison with the loss’ Sunday Times‘This book is impossible to forget … It reminds one that grief is about transformation, the loss of old moorings, a new permission to put the heart first- a sea change’ Observer‘Astonishing…. Aitkenhead has produced a work of art’ Evening Standard‘An extraordinary memoir, a beautifully written account of life, love and what is left of both after tragedy …Utterly heart-breaking but it’s also a brave and honest account of grief and its aftermath that will stay with you long after you finish the last page’ Daily Express‘Finely observed, emotionally truthful and beautifully written, her memoir is testament to the extraordinary power of love that doesn’t vanish when life of the beloved ends, but endures as long as memory itself’ Mail on Sunday‘A story of absolute heartbreak, but also a story of unbelievable courage’ Davina McCall‘An entrancing love story; a horrifying death story; a book about class, family, growing up, taking risks and learning how to be strong. Read it once, and it will be inside your head forever’ Andrew Marr‘If you buy just one book this year, make it this one. I have never read anything like it and wished it would never end’ Jennifer Saunders‘A brave book about emotional truth. It brought a tear to my eye, and will be deeply empowering for those who read it’ Tanya Byron‘Anyone who has loved, lost or grieved – that's all of us – should read it.’ Alastair Campbell‘A remarkable story of sudden tragedy and grief, of love and resilience’ Arianna Huffington‘Beautiful’ Sunday Times