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Soundings

Journeying North in the Company of Whales - the award-winning memoir

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Soundings

By: Doreen Cunningham
Narrated by: Doreen Cunningham
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'Beautiful . . . Justifies its place alongside nature writing classics such as H is for Hawk' NEW STATESMAN

'Wonderful ... both frank and fearless' TELEGRAPH BEST TRAVEL BOOKS OF THE YEAR

'Fascinating' GUARDIAN TOP TEN NATURE MEMOIRS

From Mexico to the Arctic ice, grey whale mothers swim with their calves. Following them, by bus, train and ferry, are Doreen and her toddler Max, in pursuit of a wild hope. Doreen first visited Alaska as a young journalist reporting on climate change among indigenous whaling communities. There, drawn deeply into an Iñupiaq family, she joined the bowhead whale hunt, watching for polar bears under the never-ending light. Years later, now a single mother living in a hostel, Doreen embarks on this extraordinary journey: following the grey whale migration back to the Arctic, where greys and bowheads meet at the melting apex of our planet.

'Soundings got under my skin. I finished it in tears' AMY LIPTROT

'What a voice! What a book!' CHARLES FOSTER

'Soulful, honest, insightful, humane and propulsive' JINI REDDY

'Thrilling, passionate and tender-hearted' HELEN JUKES

WINNER OF THE RSL GILES ST AUBYN AWARD

ONE OF SMITHSONIAN MAGAZINE'S TEN BEST BOOKS ABOUT TRAVEL OF 2022 ©2022 Doreen Cunningham Adventure Travel Adventurers, Explorers & Survival Environmentalists & Naturalists Motherhood Parenting & Families Professionals & Academics Relationships Women Polar Region
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Critic Reviews

A beautiful account of trauma, community and nature's capacity to heal, this book takes its place alongside modern classics of the genre such as Helen Macdonald's H is for Hawk.
The endless wait of the whale hunt is made fascinating by her quiet observations. The protagonists make a deeply refreshing triad: a single mother travelling with her child, learning from the whales how to parent (Sarah Thomas)
Compelling ... A human story of resilience, loss and immense bravery ... A rallying cry for love
A wonderful debut . . . both frank and fearless, and a plea for the whales to be allowed to live, and die, in peace
An original, unexpectedly pacey blend of memoir and nature writing. Whether observing how the ceteceans are threatened by global warming, delving into the lives of the Inupiaq or sharing personal struggles, Cunningham brings a sensitivity to the page. This is a moving riposte to those who offer atomised perspectives on the natural world (Jini Reddy)
A striking, brave and often lyrical book that defies easy interpretation . . . Her sensuous descriptions of grey whales and humpbacks provide some of the book's richest passages . . . She is no Ahab; it is not a single whale to which she is drawn, but the collective, and in the end the whales act as stepping-stones, bridges to human relationships on her journey, notably with other women and mothers. What at first seems a reckless, near-mystical pursuit of an imagined being leads her to find a human pod of her own. (Edward Posnett)
Soundings got under my skin. It was as if I'd joined Doreen and her young son on their search for grey whales, and we'd been through something important together. I finished it in tears
Doreen's is a thrilling, passionate and tenderhearted adventure. I read this book in one sitting, and couldn't sleep that night - my mind was still filled with her extraordinary endurance, her wild spirit.
What a voice! What a book! Pounding with the power of thrashing flukes, shivering with Arctic ice, yet suffused with rare human warmth. A book worthy of its mighty subjects.
Beautiful . . . Through such delicate merging of environmental and individual trauma, Soundings births a raw, intimate narrative about nature's capacity to mend - and justifies its place alongside modern nature writing classics, such as Helen Macdonald's H is for Hawk (India Bourke)
Beautiful and brave, and startling in its raw emotional honesty.
This stunning book blends nature writing of the most urgent kind with precise and poetic observation of human tribulation and the interconnectedness of all things. Fresh, brave and unique
Soundings stuns with its bravery and lyricism. This is a book to be devoured.
All stars
Most relevant
I finished listening to this book today with the near constant threat of tears. At times I had to give in and them free. Partially, because Doreen felt like a kindred spirit from the beginning. Hearing the story in her own words was absolutely magical. As someone who has often felt on the outside, both as a parent and otherwise, I could relate so much to who she is and her journey. Not just as a mother, but also as a writer, lover, mother, daughter, activist, environmentalist, and survivor.

It was likewise a special experience because she tells the story in such a brilliant and vivid way: weaving the narrative through time and place and building to a satisfying climax. Her writing is genuine, descriptive, and immursive. When she describes singing while standing on the ice to only have a whale surface at the sound of her voice, I feel like I am there, too. In fact, I frankly do not want to be anywhere else

I get the impression from some reviews that the reviewer just wanted a nice story about whales. Thankfully, it is far richer and more intimate than I could have imagined when downloaded the title.
For any who say it is not about whales, the creatures (and her childhood horse) do, in fact, permeate the entire tale both literally and as symbols displaying deeper meaning.

At one point in her tale, Doreen opens up to a welcoming stranger about how she wants her sons to see the grey whales so desperately. She wants him to see their resilience and strength, especially in how they made the long journey to the quiet corner of the world they found themselves in. If the whales made it, she and Max could also make it.

I hope that at some point Doreen was able to realise that even if Max could not see the whales, he would have learnt all these things from his own mammal mother. A truly courageous woman who I feel privileged decided to share her unique story with us.

Just wonderful

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In the spirit of reconciliation, Audible acknowledges the Traditional Custodians of country throughout Australia and their connections to land, sea and community. We pay our respect to their elders past and present and extend that respect to all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples today.