Resilience and fortitude are personified is Suzanne Heywood’s memoir Wavewalker. Though her family have denounced her recollections, one cannot doubt Suzanne’s clear, precise accounts.
From her fears and insecurity after a devastating storm fractured her skull and nearly demolished their 21m schooner through to her battles to co-ordinate correspondence schooling, this memoir is an extraordinary testament to grit and determination.
Suzanne Cook was just seven years old when her father Gordon made the decision to sail around the world in Wavewalker. Gordon, her mother Mary and brother Jon set off from Plymouth, England in 1976 and began the fulfillment of her father’s dream under the guise of ‘following Captain Cook’s voyages’.
Sailing through the North Atlantic to South America, across the South Atlantic to South Africa. Through the Indian Ocean and the devastating 15m ‘wave’ and rescued to Isle Amsterdam then onwards to Australia, New Zealand, Pacific Islands and Hawaii.
It is a remarkable voyage that stretched from a promised three years to ten and we witness the disintegration of trust in parents, fears arise and a desire for normalcy witha secure place to pursue education. These are Suzanne’s formative years.
Whilst she laments the indifference from her parents and the precarious situations they would find themselves in, Suzanne did find a way and carve out a successful career and family.
Learning from the different crew members that joined the voyage at various times, Suzanne had some heroes in her corner and helped her navigate her way through education and forming her worldview.
In amongst the angst and inability to communicate with bloody-minded parents, Suzanne weaves in tales of majestic moments of interaction with ocean creatures, wild remote islands and the people that dwell there. She conveys an ability to respect and communicate with the various communities she encountered. Some may say that was a fortunate, privileged childhood but she could have had it easier if her parents were more tuned to her needs and requirements!
This is a powerful memoir made more poignant that we are very similar in age and the era was familiar. In this modern age we often comment on the battle to engage children in education, yet Suzanne gives us her experience of having to fight to keep her personal education expectations on track in the face of insurmountable circumstances. It was a hopeful read knowing she gained her degrees and success.
Harper Collins ISBN 9780008498504