Catrina Davies

Thoreauesque Shed Dweller in Cornwall, England
Review of the riverrun paperback edition (2020) of the original riverrun hardcover (2019)

I had previously never heard of Catrina Davies, until I happened to see this tweet which was copied by someone else that I follow on Twitter. It has since had almost 42,000 Likes. Her positive spirit and her unique living situation led me to immediately source a copy of her Homesick memoir.
See photograph here at rel="nofollow" target="_top">https://pbs.twimg.com/media/E5HV64QWEAAZxPb
Photograph sourced from Twitter here.

Homesick: Why I Live in a Shed tells the story of how Davies came to live in an abandoned shed at a crossroads on the Penzance Peninsula in the Southwestern most tip of England several years ago. The shed was actually in her family as it had been her father's office decades ago. Due to the overpriced housing situation in Bristol, Davies at first moved to the shed as a temporary measure. Her renewed connection to her family roots and the surrounding environment led her to gradually renovate and repair the shed into a home situation.

The tale is collapsed into a 1-year cycle in the book as Davies gradually seeks out the amenities of water, cooking, heating, gardening, electricity, wall and roof repairs and, most drastically, the right to inhabit a previously inhabitable dwelling. She tells the story with drama and joy and with a constant optimistic spirit (although there are definitely setbacks along the way). Quotes from Thoreau's back-to-nature memoir Walden (1854) are spread throughout the book as inspiration.

Homesick is actually the 2nd memoir from Catrina Davies. Her first book Fearless: A Story of Love, Loss and the Midnight Sun (2021) about her adventures busking across Europe was recently reissued.

Trivia and Links
I can't find the BBC2 Cornwall program (referred to in the tweet above), but there are several other interview clips with Catrina Davies online such as Why I live in a shed on YouTube.… (mehr)