Deer Island

From his experiences as a rough sleeper in London in the early eighties to the wilds of Jura, Neil Ansell has woven a beautifully told memoir, and a meditation on belonging.

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At the beginning of the 1980s Neil Ansell lived in a series of squats and derelict buildings across London. Becoming part of a floating community of rough sleepers and volunteers, who found purpose in providing companionship and support for one another. But Britain was changing - this was the decade of the individual and soon we would be told that 'there was no such thing as society.' Out of his experiences Ansell has woven a beautifully told tale, interleaving the streets of the capital with journeys through the wilds of Jura (a Norse word for deer island), building a powerful and moving meditation on belonging. This is the first paperback edition of the highly praised memoir.