Katie had never been in a sea kayak, but when her brother Toby died in the middle of his challenge to paddle in every area of the Shipping Forecast, she decided to honour his memory by completing his adventure. On a journey that takes her from the monotonies of motherhood in urban Barcelona to the far reaches of the Shipping Forecast through the wilds of the British Isles, Katie is forced to face her past and question her present, exploring the loss of her family members as well as her own identity. After two years of inelegant paddling and potentially worse parenting, can she complete the challenge?

Thundery at Times is not a story of battling high seas or completing daring tasks, but one of making your own rules and living life to the full. It is about finding joy and hope in nature, motherhood and middle age, in nurturing your own adventures and embracing connection and peace. It is a story of female resilience in the face of adversity; of staring down grief and asking, what’s possible from here?

As seen on the BBC Travel Show.

Foreword by Charlie Connelly, author of Attention All Shipping

The Shipping Forecast has been described as the UK’s national lullaby: a source of dependability and calm in our often chaotic world, it has charmed millions of listeners and aided generations of seafarers across the decades. No stranger to weathering a storm after living with a rare life-limiting condition and facing the death of his brother, avid kayaker Toby Carr set out to explore the areas of the Forecast.

On a journey that took him to the harshest and most tranquil stretches of our sea, Toby found the real people, places and stories behind the familiar names and imagined environments of the well-loved BBC broadcast. From the wildness and peace of the sea, looking back at the land, Toby hoped to gain the strength and balance he knew nature could provide and to discover what anchors us to each other.

Written by Toby’s sister Katie from his extensive notes and recordings after his untimely death, Moderate Becoming Good Later is both an epic adventure – sometimes choppy, constantly moving – and a personal voyage of discovery that includes old friends and new, plenty of wildlife, and the ever-present sea.