Reviews
"[A] sensational, devastating story ... All at Sea is more than the recounting of a freak accident and its consequences. It is a thoughtful and provocative rumination on love, family and grief. Where When Breath Becomes Air offered a dying man's perspective on mortality, All at Sea offers a widow's perspective on survivor's guilt ... A bracing and valuable reminder of the vagaries of fate that can leave you feeling unaccountably grateful--not only for your own relative serendipity, but for the wisdom borne of Aitkenhead's grit." --Washington Post "A heart-wrenching tale of race, unlikely love, and how grief changes everything. It's unforgettable." --People "A tour-de-force ... Aitkenhead is rigorously unsentimental and unsparingly honest ... No one who reads her brave and eloquent book will ever forget endearing Tony or their incandescent love story." --Boston Globe "An inspired portrait of [an] unconventional love story--he a drug-dealing ex-con, she an intellectual free spirit--stretching across lines of class, race, family history, and temperament. This is a star-crossed yet triumphant tale." --Elle "Aitkenhead's memoir is a rare book to surface this summer: unsentimental, but still entirely heartbreaking ... Beautifully written and, remarkably, full of hope." --Travel + Leisure, "This book is impossible to forget: I finished it in one sitting--in a paralyzed, stunned, empathetic trance . . . its emotional exactitude makes it remarkable . . . There is a freedom about this writing. Nothing is off limits. But what makes the book powerful is that it reminds one that grief is about transformation, the loss of old moorings, a new permission to put the heart first--a sea change." --Kate Kellaway, The Guardian "Aitkenhead has an incredible gift for writing. Events are set down almost immediately, and her handling of the tragedy--despite her raw torment--is so clear and so carefully paced, it's astonishing . . . Her ache for honesty is searing at times but the overwhelming truth is that Aitkenhead has produced a work of art." --Charlotte Edwardes, London Evening Standard "An extraordinary memoir, a beautifully written account of life, love and what is left of both after tragedy . . . All at Sea is utterly heartbreaking but it is also a brave and honest account of grief and its aftermath that will stay with you long after you finish the last page." --Charlotte Heathcote, Daily Express, "[A] sensational, devastating story ... All at Sea is more than the recounting of a freak accident and its consequences. It is a thoughtful and provocative rumination on love, family and grief. Where When Breath Becomes Air offered a dying man's perspective on mortality, All at Sea offers a widow's perspective on survivor's guilt ... A bracing and valuable reminder of the vagaries of fate that can leave you feeling unaccountably grateful--not only for your own relative serendipity, but for the wisdom borne of Aitkenhead's grit." --Washington Post "A heart-wrenching tale of race, unlikely love, and how grief changes everything. It's unforgettable." --People "A tour-de-force ... Aitkenhead is rigorously unsentimental and unsparingly honest ... No one who reads her brave and eloquent book will ever forget endearing Tony or their incandescent love story." --Boston Globe "An inspired portrait of [an] unconventional love story--he a drug-dealing ex-con, she an intellectual free spirit--stretching across lines of class, race, family history, and temperament. This is a star-crossed yet triumphant tale." --Elle "Aitkenhead's memoir is a rare book to surface this summer: unsentimental, but still entirely heartbreaking ... Beautifully written and, remarkably, full of hope." --Travel + Leisure "A love letter . . . written in as heart-stopping prose as you are likely to read." --Minneapolis Star-Tribune, "A heart-wrenching tale of race, unlikely love, and how grief changes everything. It's unforgettable." --People "An inspired portrait of [an] unconventional love story--he a drug-dealing ex-con, she an intellectual free spirit--stretching across lines of class, race, family history, and temperament. This is a star-crossed yet triumphant tale." --Elle "Aitkenhead's memoir is a rare book to surface this summer: unsentimental, but still entirely heartbreaking ... Beautifully written and, remarkably, full of hope." --Travel + Leisure "Aitkenhead's tightly written memoir looks beyond commonly held truths, taking readers deep into the morass of human emotion and leaving them gasping for air." --Publishers Weekly, starred review "Raw, unremitting emotion grounds the book and makes it compelling on a nearly visceral level ... Intense and surprising from start to finish." --Booklist "That [Aitkenhead] and her partner were able to learn from each other and work through their race and class differences to form a cohesive family unit make the book memorable. But in the end, it is the author's resilience after her lover's death--which she describes with poised eloquence--that renders the narrative especially satisfying. An unsentimental yet affecting memoir." --Kirkus Reviews "This book is impossible to forget: I finished it in one sitting--in a paralyzed, stunned, empathetic trance . . . its emotional exactitude makes it remarkable . . . There is a freedom about this writing. Nothing is off limits. But what makes the book powerful is that it reminds one that grief is about transformation, the loss of old moorings, a new permission to put the heart first--a sea change." --Kate Kellaway, The Guardian "Aitkenhead has an incredible gift for writing. Events are set down almost immediately, and her handling of the tragedy--despite her raw torment--is so clear and so carefully paced, it's astonishing . . . Her ache for honesty is searing at times but the overwhelming truth is that Aitkenhead has produced a work of art." --Charlotte Edwardes, London Evening Standard "An extraordinary memoir, a beautifully written account of life, love and what is left of both after tragedy . . . All at Sea is utterly heartbreaking but it is also a brave and honest account of grief and its aftermath that will stay with you long after you finish the last page." --Charlotte Heathcote, Daily Express, "[A] sensational, devastating story ... All at Sea is more than the recounting of a freak accident and its consequences. It is a thoughtful and provocative rumination on love, family and grief. Where When Breath Becomes Air offered a dying man's perspective on mortality, All at Sea offers a widow's perspective on survivor's guilt ... A bracing and valuable reminder of the vagaries of fate that can leave you feeling unaccountably grateful--not only for your own relative serendipity, but for the wisdom borne of Aitkenhead's grit." --Washington Post "A heart-wrenching tale of race, unlikely love, and how grief changes everything. It's unforgettable." --People "A tour-de-force ... Aitkenhead is rigorously unsentimental and unsparingly honest ... No one who reads her brave and eloquent book will ever forget endearing Tony or their incandescent love story." --Boston Globe "An inspired portrait of [an] unconventional love story--he a drug-dealing ex-con, she an intellectual free spirit--stretching across lines of class, race, family history, and temperament. This is a star-crossed yet triumphant tale." --Elle "Aitkenhead's memoir is a rare book to surface this summer: unsentimental, but still entirely heartbreaking ... Beautifully written and, remarkably, full of hope." --Travel + Leisure "A love letter . . . written in as heart-stopping prose as you are likely to read." --Minneapolis Star-Tribune, "A heart-wrenching tale of race, unlikely love, and how grief changes everything. It's unforgettable." --People "A tour-de-force ... Aitkenhead is rigorously unsentimental and unsparingly honest ... We see the skill with which [she] captures fleeting emotional states, conjures up the 'surreal slapstick pantomime' quality of the experience, and creates a striking sense of immediacy ... No one who reads her brave and eloquent book will ever forget endearing Tony or their incandescent love story." --Boston Globe "An inspired portrait of [an] unconventional love story--he a drug-dealing ex-con, she an intellectual free spirit--stretching across lines of class, race, family history, and temperament. This is a star-crossed yet triumphant tale." --Elle "Aitkenhead's memoir is a rare book to surface this summer: unsentimental, but still entirely heartbreaking ... Beautifully written and, remarkably, full of hope." --Travel + Leisure "Aitkenhead's tightly written memoir looks beyond commonly held truths, taking readers deep into the morass of human emotion and leaving them gasping for air." --Publishers Weekly, starred review "Raw, unremitting emotion grounds the book and makes it compelling on a nearly visceral level ... Intense and surprising from start to finish." --Booklist "That [Aitkenhead] and her partner were able to learn from each other and work through their race and class differences to form a cohesive family unit make the book memorable. But in the end, it is the author's resilience after her lover's death--which she describes with poised eloquence--that renders the narrative especially satisfying. An unsentimental yet affecting memoir." --Kirkus Reviews "This book is impossible to forget: I finished it in one sitting--in a paralyzed, stunned, empathetic trance . . . its emotional exactitude makes it remarkable . . . There is a freedom about this writing. Nothing is off limits. But what makes the book powerful is that it reminds one that grief is about transformation, the loss of old moorings, a new permission to put the heart first--a sea change." --Kate Kellaway, The Guardian "Aitkenhead has an incredible gift for writing. Events are set down almost immediately, and her handling of the tragedy--despite her raw torment--is so clear and so carefully paced, it's astonishing . . . Her ache for honesty is searing at times but the overwhelming truth is that Aitkenhead has produced a work of art." --Charlotte Edwardes, London Evening Standard "An extraordinary memoir, a beautifully written account of life, love and what is left of both after tragedy . . . All at Sea is utterly heartbreaking but it is also a brave and honest account of grief and its aftermath that will stay with you long after you finish the last page." --Charlotte Heathcote, Daily Express, "[A] sensational, devastating story ... All at Sea is more than the recounting of a freak accident and its consequences. It is a thoughtful and provocative rumination on love, family and grief. Where When Breath Becomes Air offered a dying man's perspective on mortality, All at Sea offers a widow's perspective on survivor's guilt ... A bracing and valuable reminder of the vagaries of fate that can leave you feeling unaccountably grateful--not only for your own relative serendipity, but for the wisdom borne of Aitkenhead's grit." --Washington Post "A heart-wrenching tale of race, unlikely love, and how grief changes everything. It's unforgettable." --People "A tour-de-force ... Aitkenhead is rigorously unsentimental and unsparingly honest ... We see the skill with which [she] captures fleeting emotional states, conjures up the 'surreal slapstick pantomime' quality of the experience, and creates a striking sense of immediacy ... No one who reads her brave and eloquent book will ever forget endearing Tony or their incandescent love story." --Boston Globe "An inspired portrait of [an] unconventional love story--he a drug-dealing ex-con, she an intellectual free spirit--stretching across lines of class, race, family history, and temperament. This is a star-crossed yet triumphant tale." --Elle "Aitkenhead's memoir is a rare book to surface this summer: unsentimental, but still entirely heartbreaking ... Beautifully written and, remarkably, full of hope." --Travel + Leisure "Aitkenhead's tightly written memoir looks beyond commonly held truths, taking readers deep into the morass of human emotion and leaving them gasping for air." --Publishers Weekly, starred review "Raw, unremitting emotion grounds the book and makes it compelling on a nearly visceral level ... Intense and surprising from start to finish." --Booklist "That [Aitkenhead] and her partner were able to learn from each other and work through their race and class differences to form a cohesive family unit make the book memorable. But in the end, it is the author's resilience after her lover's death--which she describes with poised eloquence--that renders the narrative especially satisfying. An unsentimental yet affecting memoir." --Kirkus Reviews "This book is impossible to forget: I finished it in one sitting--in a paralyzed, stunned, empathetic trance . . . its emotional exactitude makes it remarkable . . . There is a freedom about this writing. Nothing is off limits. But what makes the book powerful is that it reminds one that grief is about transformation, the loss of old moorings, a new permission to put the heart first--a sea change." --Kate Kellaway, The Guardian "Aitkenhead has an incredible gift for writing. Events are set down almost immediately, and her handling of the tragedy--despite her raw torment--is so clear and so carefully paced, it's astonishing . . . Her ache for honesty is searing at times but the overwhelming truth is that Aitkenhead has produced a work of art." --Charlotte Edwardes, London Evening Standard "An extraordinary memoir, a beautifully written account of life, love and what is left of both after tragedy . . . All at Sea is utterly heartbreaking but it is also a brave and honest account of grief and its aftermath that will stay with you long after you finish the last page." --Charlotte Heathcote, Daily Express
