The Place of Tides

By: James Rebanks

Narrated by: Bryan Dick

A National Bestseller

“A modern classic, one we very much need right now.” –George Saunders

From the acclaimed author of The Shepherd’s Life, a magical work of nonfiction in which James Rebanks reflects on a life-changing summer spent on a remote island off the coast of Norway, where his only companion was an old woman who practiced the ancient tradition of collecting eiderdown from birds that nest on this remarkable landscape each year

We are all in need of lights to follow.

One afternoon many years ago, James Rebanks met an old woman on a remote Norwegian island. She lived and worked alone on a tiny rocky outcrop, caring for wild Eider ducks and gathering their down. Hers was a centuries-old trade that had once made men and women rich but had long been in decline. Still, somehow, she seemed to be hanging on.

Back at home, Rebanks couldn’t stop thinking about the woman on the rocks. She was fierce and otherworldly—and yet strangely familiar. Years passed. Then, one day, he wrote her a letter, asking if he could return. Bring work clothes, she replied, and good boots, and come quickly: her health was failing. And so he travelled to the edge of the Arctic to witness her last season on the island.

This is the story of that season. It is the story of a unique and ancient landscape, and of the woman who brought it back to life. It traces the pattern of her work from the rough, isolated toil of bitter winter to the elation of the endless summer light, when the birds leave behind their precious down for gathering, like feathered gold.

Slowly, Rebanks begins to understand that this woman and her world are not what he had previously thought. What began as a journey of escape becomes an extraordinary lesson in self-knowledge and forgiveness.

This little know history

Love the story of Anna and learned so much about the history of Eider ducks and the island people

It was too short!! More please!

I only felt cheated because I so thoroughly enjoyed it and did not want it to end!

A wonderfully genuine story with some beautiful history.

I enjoyed learning about the eider duck down. I really enjoyed the characters and what a wonderful friendship they all had.

The entire story was so interesting.

I liked learning about the ducks and building the nests. Such a simple life but difficult. Annie was quite a woman. It was very well written and so easy to picture everything in my mind.

Lyric and immersive

I read this - noted as a tip book of 2025 - with little knowledge of the plot but a strong love of the sea. It’s about forever told in a moment of time. About strength and our connection to nature. About human spirit and connection across eons. Loved it.