Acknowledgements

Peter Davidson offered me encouragement when all I had was an idea. He read the earliest chapters and patiently guided me in the right direction. Without his kindness this book would probably never have been written.

During my travels the following people were particularly helpful and hospitable: Rie Oldenburg in Narsaq; Hilary LeRoy-Gauthier, Shawn Bell and Sam Stokell in Fort Smith; Eva Meyer and Maria Jarlsdotter Enckell in Mariehamn; and especially Jeff and Cassandra Raun in Anchorage.

Numerous friends assisted me in one way or another, but Jordan Ogg, Amy Liptrot, Martin MacInnes, Rob Duncan, Ruth Cockshott and Charlene Storey all deserve particular mention. So too do my friends at Nice ’n’ Sleazy’s acoustic night in Glasgow, who helped me through the last months of writing with their fine company and songs.

Thanks to my agent, Jenny Brown; to Esther Woolfson for her invaluable input; to Gavin Francis; to my editor, Tom Johnstone; and to everyone at Polygon/Birlinn. Thanks also to Creative Scotland, the Scottish Book Trust, Emergents, Shetland Arts and the Arts Trust of Scotland.

I began writing this book while living in Fair Isle. My love for that place and that community will last a lifetime, as will my gratitude towards people there. I felt truly at home on the isle, and still do, in a way that I have never done anywhere else; and my understanding of that crucial word – home – which is at the heart of this book, was shaped by my time there.

Thanks, finally, to my family, for putting up with me.