Review of Bluewater Walkabout
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Fola Moni
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Review of Bluewater Walkabout
[Following is a volunteer review of "Bluewater Walkabout" by Tina Dreffin.]
Wanderlust is also known as travel bug. It is that strong impulse to leave everything behind and just travel anywhere your heart desires. Even though most of us would have loved to do so, we have many factors that inhibit us, such as work, family and other responsibilities. But what if you can? What if you can follow your dreams and give in to wanderlust? In the captivating memoir, Bluewater Walkabout: Into Africa, by Tina Dreffin, this is what the author did, and it’s simply incredible.
For Tina Dreffin, life is always an adventure. But it hasn’t always been that way. Her job was stressful, and sexual harassment was rife. Her bank account was knocking on red, and her rent was almost due. Worse, she was still troubled by the nightmares of past trauma. Then a call from her brother came through, and her life changed forever.
Imagine looking for exotic animals in the wild, with adrenaline coursing through your veins at the close-up sight of the magnificent creatures. Picture yourself on a boat miles away from anywhere that resembles land with just your loved ones on board and dolphins swimming nearby. Visualise your feet moving to the beat of a sensual dance taught by natives long ago on a tropical island. These are just some of the adventures that captivated me about this book. The author’s descriptive writing style is rich and provocative. Its intention to keep me engrossed until the last page worked perfectly. The scenes came alive, page after page filling my visual cortex with brilliant and colourful images.
Amidst all the adventures are strong themes that are relatable and profound. The ones that stood out for me are the sexual assaults the author suffered through in her youth. What made it worse is that she confided in close friends and family about adding it to the book, and most of them said no. Rape is one of the worst things that can happen to any woman, and not being able to talk about it publicly is almost the same as being assaulted all over again. Also, talking about it would encourage others to come out and share their own experiences too and probably get help, justice or both. I applaud the author for speaking out publicly. I hope this would help someone out there know they can seek help and redress. Above all, I hope they know they can survive and thrive.
The only thing I didn’t like was the way the book ended. It was abrupt and left me in suspense. I immediately started googling to find out more about the author. Perhaps this was the intention in the first place as I got to know about the other books she has written. But it didn’t stop me from feeling let down about the ending.
Conclusively, I would rate the book 3 out of 4 stars. I took a star out because of the abrupt ending. It felt out of place in a book that was so rich and detailed. I spotted three errors, but they did not affect my reading experience. I would say the book was professionally well edited. I would recommend it to anyone who loves travelling, sailing and adventures.
******
Bluewater Walkabout
View: on Bookshelves | on Amazon
Wanderlust is also known as travel bug. It is that strong impulse to leave everything behind and just travel anywhere your heart desires. Even though most of us would have loved to do so, we have many factors that inhibit us, such as work, family and other responsibilities. But what if you can? What if you can follow your dreams and give in to wanderlust? In the captivating memoir, Bluewater Walkabout: Into Africa, by Tina Dreffin, this is what the author did, and it’s simply incredible.
For Tina Dreffin, life is always an adventure. But it hasn’t always been that way. Her job was stressful, and sexual harassment was rife. Her bank account was knocking on red, and her rent was almost due. Worse, she was still troubled by the nightmares of past trauma. Then a call from her brother came through, and her life changed forever.
Imagine looking for exotic animals in the wild, with adrenaline coursing through your veins at the close-up sight of the magnificent creatures. Picture yourself on a boat miles away from anywhere that resembles land with just your loved ones on board and dolphins swimming nearby. Visualise your feet moving to the beat of a sensual dance taught by natives long ago on a tropical island. These are just some of the adventures that captivated me about this book. The author’s descriptive writing style is rich and provocative. Its intention to keep me engrossed until the last page worked perfectly. The scenes came alive, page after page filling my visual cortex with brilliant and colourful images.
Amidst all the adventures are strong themes that are relatable and profound. The ones that stood out for me are the sexual assaults the author suffered through in her youth. What made it worse is that she confided in close friends and family about adding it to the book, and most of them said no. Rape is one of the worst things that can happen to any woman, and not being able to talk about it publicly is almost the same as being assaulted all over again. Also, talking about it would encourage others to come out and share their own experiences too and probably get help, justice or both. I applaud the author for speaking out publicly. I hope this would help someone out there know they can seek help and redress. Above all, I hope they know they can survive and thrive.
The only thing I didn’t like was the way the book ended. It was abrupt and left me in suspense. I immediately started googling to find out more about the author. Perhaps this was the intention in the first place as I got to know about the other books she has written. But it didn’t stop me from feeling let down about the ending.
Conclusively, I would rate the book 3 out of 4 stars. I took a star out because of the abrupt ending. It felt out of place in a book that was so rich and detailed. I spotted three errors, but they did not affect my reading experience. I would say the book was professionally well edited. I would recommend it to anyone who loves travelling, sailing and adventures.
******
Bluewater Walkabout
View: on Bookshelves | on Amazon
Latest Review: Moonlight Serenade by Terry Mark
