'Natasha Carthew writes with an insight and an acuity of vision that few can match'
Sally Huband, author of Sea Bean

''Fascinating … affecting … illuminating … [Carthew] has genuinely interesting things to say'
The Sunday Times

BEYOND THE PICTURE POSTCARDS, BRITAIN'S COASTAL COMMUNITIES ARE SUFFERING.

Crowds flood the beaches during summer heatwaves but they quickly vanish again, leaving behind drifts of rubbish and unstable seasonal jobs. Seaside property is in high demand but affordable only for landlords and gentrifiers. The cost-of-living crisis and the ongoing pains of austerity trap those at the vulnerable edges of our nation in poverty.

Having grown up in rural Cornwall, Natasha Carthew leaves the county in search of a new home. Travelling the country and exploring the villages, towns and cities of our coast, she meets the people fighting to keep these places alive. With fierce compassion, she shares their voices and their stories.

Rough Edges is a rallying cry for the beauty and importance of our coast and its people.

'Bracing, insightful and compassionate, the book shines a light on communities too often unseen and unheard'
Jini Reddy, author of Wanderland

'A forceful but compassionate polemic, delivered with Carthew's trademark robustly lyrical prose style'
Tim Hannigan, author of The Granite Kingdom

‘A powerful story of social inequality’ RAYNOR WINN
‘Important and beautifully lyrical’ THE TIMES
‘A fierce, urgent memoir’ AMY-JANE BEER

To grow up in rural poverty is to fight for life before you can walk. Natasha Carthew was born into a world that sat alongside picture-postcard Cornwall – one where second homes took the sea view of council properties, summer months shifted the course of people’s lives, and wealth converged with poverty on sandy beaches.

In the rockpools and hedgerows of the natural world, Natasha found solace in the wild landscape, and a means of escape in her mobile library. In Undercurrent she retraces the cliff paths of her childhood, determined to make sense of an upbringing shaped by political neglect and a life defined by the beauty of nature.
_____

‘A story of queer resistance, of community and of finding your own voice’ DAMIAN BARR
‘By turns marvellous, moving and mesmerising’ ANITA SETHI
‘A proud, defiant account’ CAUGHT BY THE RIVER
‘Haunting and powerful’ KATE MOSSE
‘Fierce and honest . . . reveals the precarious nature of working-class life’ BBC COUNTRYFILE MAGAZINE