[QCrit] Memoir - Off Course: In search of meaning amongst the Scottish isles (55k words, First Attempt)
Hello, I'd love to get feedback on my memoir cover letter. I've written a full proposal and am almost ready to start querying, but as it's my first time I'd love to get some more eyes on it to sanity check and see how it can be improved.
Dear x,
I’m seeking representation for my nature memoir “Off Course” complete at 55000 words. Despite working in what I thought was my dream career as a natural scientist, depression and burnout led me to having to walk away from it all and seek something different. My soul was withering and I had to find a way to save it. I found a path to rediscovering purpose in life when I was given a small, deteriorating sailboat for free. Her providential name was Kismet – destiny. The story carries you along on board Kismet into the heart of the Scottish west, amongst ancient mountains and sea lochs, inhabited by otters, seals and dolphins. And along the way, at anchor in the Summer Isles under the beaming aurora, I eventually find the meaning and peace I have been looking for.
This is a deeply personal story where I face my mental health struggles and fight to restore a broken boat with no prior experience and then set off on a sail around Scotland. It is equally filled with the wonder and beauty of coastal landscapes and the drama of facing immense sailing challenges including rounding Cape Wrath, and sailing through the near-mythological roaring tides of the Pentland Firth, south of Orkney.
This story is written for anyone disillusioned with the state of the world and who seeks some escape nearer the wild edges of the map, or who looks to return to purpose through travel and the dramatic landscapes of Scotland.
It will be loved by readers who enjoy other nature memoirs such as Raynor Winn’s The Salt Path and Landlines, Philip Marsden’s The Summer Isles, and Tamsin Calidas’s I am an Island. It also shares its DNA with the reflective nature-centred writing by Nan Shepherd and Robert Macfarlane. Finally, it will appeal to the dedicated base of sailing memoir readers who love books like Bernard Moitessier’s The Long Way and Susan Smillie’s The Half Bird.
The rich, wild Scottish landscapes; the grand sailing adventure in a small sailboat I restored myself; and my perspective as a natural scientist turned sailor – observing my surroundings as a human, and as a scientist curious about the world – shapes this unique take on a classic narrative.
I have attached my proposal, and sample chapters as requested. Thank you for your time and for considering my work. The full manuscript is available on request.