Description

Book Synopsis

The story of a personal housing crisis that led to a discovery of the true value of home.

*'You will marvel at the beauty of this book, and rage at the injustice it reveals' George Monbiot*

*'Incredibly moving. To find peace and a sense of home after a life so profoundly affected by the housing crisis, is truly inspirational' Raynor Winn, bestselling author of The Salt Path*

Aged thirty-one, Catrina Davies was renting a box-room in a house in Bristol, which she shared with four other adults and a child. Working several jobs and never knowing if she could make the rent, she felt like she was breaking apart.

Homesick for the landscape of her childhood, in the far west of Cornwall, Catrina decides to give up the box-room and face her demons. As a child, she saw her family and their security torn apart; now, she resolves to make a tiny, dilapidated shed a home of her own.

With the freedom to write, surf and make music, Catrina rebuilds the shed and, piece by piece, her own sense of self. On the border of civilisation and wilderness, between the woods and the sea, she discovers the true value of home, while trying to find her place in a fragile natural world.

This is the story of a personal housing crisis and a country-wide one, grappling with class, economics, mental health and nature. It shows how housing can trap us or set us free, and what it means to feel at home.



Trade Review
You will marvel at the beauty of this book, and rage at the injustice it reveals. * George Monbiot *
An incredibly moving book. To find peace and a sense of home between the sea and the stars after a life so profoundly affected by the housing crisis, is truly inspirational. * Raynor Winn, bestselling author of The Salt Path *
Superb: a compellingly readable reflection on what it means to be alive in a mortuary, free in a society of slaves, and on place, home, relationship, and our need for the surging wild. Angry and kind; poised and desperate; urgent and vital. Davies can help us all to get a life. We need her. * Charles Foster, author of Being a Beast *
An articulate and beautifully written account from the heart of the housing disaster, told at the last point we can choose to change. * Danny Dorling, author of All that is Solid *
A marvel, a tonic of wildness - Homesick is a gently powerful and deeply beautiful read * Hugh Warwick, author of Linescapes *
Stirring, striking and extremely significant. A beautifully written search for freedom exploring social justice, mental health, nature and the priceless value of home. * Sam Bleakley, author of Mindfulness & Surfing *
Davies clearly and succinctly describes the vastness of the housing problem * Evening Standard *
A lyrical love song to unconventional living forced by the housing crisis * Big Issue *

Homesick: Why I Live in a Shed

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    £9.99

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    Order before 4pm today for delivery by Tue 28 Jul 2026.

    A Paperback / softback by Catrina Davies

    2 in stock

      Trusted by thousands of customers. See 2,385+ Customer Reviews

      View other formats and editions of Homesick: Why I Live in a Shed by Catrina Davies

      Publisher: Quercus Publishing
      Publication Date: Publication Date: 03/09/2020
      ISBN13: 9781787478664, 978-1787478664
      ISBN10: 1787478661

      Description

      Book Synopsis

      The story of a personal housing crisis that led to a discovery of the true value of home.

      *'You will marvel at the beauty of this book, and rage at the injustice it reveals' George Monbiot*

      *'Incredibly moving. To find peace and a sense of home after a life so profoundly affected by the housing crisis, is truly inspirational' Raynor Winn, bestselling author of The Salt Path*

      Aged thirty-one, Catrina Davies was renting a box-room in a house in Bristol, which she shared with four other adults and a child. Working several jobs and never knowing if she could make the rent, she felt like she was breaking apart.

      Homesick for the landscape of her childhood, in the far west of Cornwall, Catrina decides to give up the box-room and face her demons. As a child, she saw her family and their security torn apart; now, she resolves to make a tiny, dilapidated shed a home of her own.

      With the freedom to write, surf and make music, Catrina rebuilds the shed and, piece by piece, her own sense of self. On the border of civilisation and wilderness, between the woods and the sea, she discovers the true value of home, while trying to find her place in a fragile natural world.

      This is the story of a personal housing crisis and a country-wide one, grappling with class, economics, mental health and nature. It shows how housing can trap us or set us free, and what it means to feel at home.



      Trade Review
      You will marvel at the beauty of this book, and rage at the injustice it reveals. * George Monbiot *
      An incredibly moving book. To find peace and a sense of home between the sea and the stars after a life so profoundly affected by the housing crisis, is truly inspirational. * Raynor Winn, bestselling author of The Salt Path *
      Superb: a compellingly readable reflection on what it means to be alive in a mortuary, free in a society of slaves, and on place, home, relationship, and our need for the surging wild. Angry and kind; poised and desperate; urgent and vital. Davies can help us all to get a life. We need her. * Charles Foster, author of Being a Beast *
      An articulate and beautifully written account from the heart of the housing disaster, told at the last point we can choose to change. * Danny Dorling, author of All that is Solid *
      A marvel, a tonic of wildness - Homesick is a gently powerful and deeply beautiful read * Hugh Warwick, author of Linescapes *
      Stirring, striking and extremely significant. A beautifully written search for freedom exploring social justice, mental health, nature and the priceless value of home. * Sam Bleakley, author of Mindfulness & Surfing *
      Davies clearly and succinctly describes the vastness of the housing problem * Evening Standard *
      A lyrical love song to unconventional living forced by the housing crisis * Big Issue *

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