Life On A Rock

by K.A. Albury

Kate lived on Highborne Cay, Exuma, in the Bahamas for five years. Most people think it would be a vacation paradise to live and work on a small island, away from the stress and confusion of everyday life. This book will tell otherwise. It is the true story of a woman who learned about courage, fortitude and patience as she continually faced extraordinary and often dangerous situations in a place that had no doctor, no police nor other emergency personnel. Her everyday experiences in an isolated surrounding provide excitement and give a fresh and thought-provoking view of unusual events that were part of her life on this tiny, unprotected island in the Caribbean. From an armed robbery, drug traders and illegal immigrants, to medical mishaps and disasters at sea, Alison learned in those short five years that she and her husband, Peter, would be forced to step forward to protect the island and its people. In their jobs, they would need to cope—or quit.

Genres: Nonfiction, Travel, Biography

283 pages, Kindle Edition

First published February 16, 2009

Reviews

[Sara · Rating 3 out of 5]

I found this interesting because I too have lived in the Out Islands of the Bahamas for a few years. I kept seeing this book in airport stores around the islands and finally took the plunge. The story covers Albury's five years on Highbourne Cay in the Exumas starting around 1992 where she and her husband took a job to 'get away from it all' and run this little island marina. The parts I found most interesting were the refugees from Haiti that kept passing through (at one point a small boat with over 100 of them) and information about the efforts to thwart drug runners, especially being that Highborne Cay is very close to Norman's Cay.

[D · Rating 2 out of 5]

About 100 pages into the book you pretty much have the story.

[Debbie Day · Rating 2 out of 5]

Wanted to like this book so much. I’m sure K.A. Albury is a lovely person, but the book reads like the diary of a 14 year old girl.

[Kathy Boehm · Rating 4 out of 5]

Within days of starting this book, the Bahamas banned all commercial flights to and from the United States due to Covid-19, so reading this book was a welcome escape back to the Caribbean.

Kate and Peter were successful corporate employees with two grown daughters, living in Nassau and looking for a change. For five years, 1992-1997, they worked as managers of the Highborne Cay, a 500 acre island resort in the Exumas in the Bahamas, 30 miles from Nassau.

Down season was only September through November. High season was the rest of the year with an “unbelievable workload”. Told from Kate’s point of view, she was in charge of the store which was a full-time job in itself. But she also had to help her husband Peter by “working the docks, checking boats in, pumping fuel, tying yachts up in their assigned slips, reading the electric meters or keeping the status quo with good public relations“ with the guests.

Isolation from the mainland demanded 24 hour communication as well as the ability to respond to all types of emergencies and unexpected events without assistance from anyone other than those in the immediate vicinity. Within their first several months on the island, she and Peter “had captured burglars, wrapped a dead body in ice, helped with illegal immigrants, salvaged boats on the rocks and attempted to work in the medical profession, just to name a few.“

As a luxurious tropical paradise, the island is well described, as are many of the colorful characters, both transients and those who became their longtime friends. A good story, well paced, and, turning a blind eye to the handful of grammatical errors, recommended as an escape from all that Covid has brought.

[Johan D'Haenen · Rating 5 out of 5]

"(...) it takes conviction and individuality to comfortably walk the less-traveled road."
Vijf jaar wonen en werken, leven op een klein eiland van de Bahama's. Wie "Bahama's" hoort, denkt onmiddellijk aan een tropisch paradijs waar multimiljonairs met luxejachten hun dagen slijten... maar daar gaat dit werk niet over, of het is toch daar niet op geconcentreerd. Hier hebben we te maken met eenvoudige mensen die keihard werken, die leven op kleine boten, die duiken en vissen om te eten, die van alles en nog wat doen om in hun levensonderhoud te voorzien.
Kate Albury beschrijft het allemaal heel levendig met veel empathie en passie, het enthousiasme en de twijfels, de successen en de tegenslagen... met als resultaat een werk dat je met plezier leest en dat je doet dromen.
Mij heeft het des te meer getroffen daar ik zelf een lange periode van mijn leven gewoond en gewerkt heb in een warm zuiders klimaat om uiteindelijk terug te keren naar mijn heimat... en ja, de herinneringen blijven even levendig als de ervaringen zelf.

[Mascha · Rating 2 out of 5]

Read this if you're really interested in the 5000 reasons why ships in The Bahamas send distress calls.

Life On A Rock is written like a journal - and while it has some interesting parts about how the Alburys adjusted to island life in their five years as island managers, it gets quite repetitive after a while, and it's completely void of a storyline, suspense, or humour (okay, maybe you can't expect these things from a journal-like account, but it also leads to a less interesting book than I think this could have been).

I still wonder if the island owner's name was really "Mary Smith", and if not, who it was.

[Terrianne · Rating 5 out of 5]

Once you start hard to put down!

I loved reading this book. I guess knowing that this was a real life “adventure” made it so more interesting. I never thought of all the issues that could come up when living in paradise. To read of the skill and experience of Kate and Peter was astounding. Not sure I would have stayed after the first robbery. Once you start reading this book you don’t want to stop until the end.

[Rosamund · Rating 3 out of 5]

There's the basis of an interesting story here as Kate and Peter take on management of a Bahamian out island, running a marina and holiday accommodation whilst a long boat trip away from supplies and help in an emergency. But the writing is limited and the most intriguing element is the unspoken tension between them, the rich owner and the local staff who have been there much longer but they seem to undervalue.

[S.Ravkin · Rating 2 out of 5]

I read this book for my reading-of-the-world project (Bahamas). Ultimately, I did not enjoy it. It was dry and read like an unedited diary. It was recommended to me for this project and so I read it despite it being nonfiction. I have gone back and read various other fiction authors from the Bahamas since.

[Maud (reading the world challenge) · Rating 3 out of 5]

[#124 The Bahamas] This book really shows how hard it is to live on an isolated island in the Caribbean. This is definitely not a dream job. It was an interesting read about a life you can't really imagine if you live in a city.

[JONATHAN NICHOLS · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great Read

I was on the hunt for a book about life on a tropical island and this one did not disappoint. This was an interesting read and I recommend it to anyone who enjoys a good book.

[Susanne Newbraugh · Rating 4 out of 5]

Loved it, as I do most books with a familiar island theme. Relaxing read.

[Maggie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great story of living in the out islands of the Bahamas

[Jim · Rating 3 out of 5]

It was interesting seeing how daily life works on a small island with a tiny population. The ending of the book was kind of abrupt.

[Jeannie Singletary · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a great read! I highly recommend it!

[Tove R. · Rating 4 out of 5]

3,5

[Joan · Rating 3 out of 5]

I have just read three books, different biographies of Bahama people and their adventures. I will group them together. This one is about a couple who managed on small isolated island at the north end of the Exumas with marina, repairs, rental accommodation, etc. The stories and knowledge of life here are fun.

Another favorite is Out-Island Doctor by Evans Cottman, who left life in the US as a teacher for adventure and found it. He bought 100 acres in Crocked Island, VERY isolated and far south Bahamas. The people are extraordinary, but he met a lovely lady along the way, while researching boat builders, leading him to the Abacos and married her. She was unhappy far from her home and huge family in Marsh Harbour, so they returned. He was encouraged by a doctor to apply for a medical license as a lay 'doctor', a practice of this government in the 50's and earlier . He had a Master in Biochemistry and did some research. Easily licensed, he found flocks of patients came immediately wanting to be 'sounded' to see if their blood was flowing right along with the current complaint. Intimidated by his lack of training he spent 5 months in the US boning up with a thoughtful orthopedic surgeon, teaching him rudiments of emergency service. He travelled all over the Bahamas in his wee sail boat, surviving extreme weather. He describes the vast differences in character of the people from one island to the next, and his own shines through.

Last is Below Another Sky by Dave Gale, written about Elbow Cay, next to Man-O-War where we are located. He and his new bride joined friends here, a couple with a dream to found a retreat run on AA principles. It really was a commune and predictably ended in a bust. Then the Gales moved to tiny Parrot Cay off Elbow Cay to build their own home and try to make a living. They began a small marina, then a boat repair, then guest units while discovering the character of the people here and visitors, rescuing those in trouble, etc. It is another story of resilience and initiative, and in all these I learned a lot about these islands.

[Jo Reason · Rating 3 out of 5]

Kate and her husband Peter accept a job of running an island in the Bahamas. Their job is to run the day to day ins and outs of a tourist destination in the Bahamas.

This is good solid storytelling, although, technically, this isn’t actually a story, this is a memoir, it is well written,it has a lot of details of the ups and downs of life on the island.

It is a delightful light read….most of the time, as there are some dark moments also.

Kate does a good job of detailing her 5 years on a “rock”, as she calls it.

There are so many ups and downs and who would have thought it really, an ideal job on a desert island in the Bahamas, but the work was often back breaking and I am not sure if I would have held out myself, Kate seemed to be very true to the reader, explaining the day to day chores that needed to be done, 12 or more hours a day, 7 days a week with no breaks. It seemed like a very tough life.

There are some very scary moments while living on the island, robberies, death, accidents, drug runs, illegal immigrants and Kate and Peter needed to have their wits about them all the time as they are far from the mainland and the nearest hospital/police station, etc.

The main characters are obviously Kate and her husband Peter, written from Kate’s point of view, there are other characters in the memoir but they don’t have a large part and you don’t really get to know them.

The book was quick and easy to read.

My favourite part was when Kate was telling her readers about the adventures with her horse. There were some parts that had me chuckle out loud, other parts of the book were a little frustrating. Due to the fact that I didn’t really like either of the two main characters of Kate and Peter this book is receiving 3 stars
Video review in Spanish
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9EkUo...

[Sue Kozlowski · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read this book as part of my quest to read a book written by an author from every country in the world. The author of this book is from the Bahamas.

Kate was born in the Bahamas and was educated in the United States. She returned to Nassau to raise her 2 daughters, along with her husband Pete. Unhappy with their corporate jobs, Kate and Pete accept a job to manage Highborne Cay, located southeast of Nassau. The Bahamas is comprised of over 2,400 cays (coral reefs) and 700 islands!

Life on the cay was much harder than either of them expected. They were in charge of the sole marina, the small store, and the guest houses. Although they eventually had additional workers, they found themselves working 12 hour days, 7 days a week.

The book reads like a diary, basically describing Kate's day to day life and her experiences on the Cay. I found it interesting to read what it would be like to live on an island.

[Regina · Rating 3 out of 5]

This beautiful memoir recalls the often unrewarded energy a Bahamian couple exerts after leaving metropolitan Nassau to manage a small island in the Exumas of the Bahamas. It chronicles the trials of acting simultaneously as property managers, police officers, rescue workers, veterinarians, guides, shopkeepers, party planners, EMTs, and a host of other roles and responsibilities on a "rock" with limited access to the many services that are often taken for granted on the mainland and the more populated islands. Not your typical "island paradise" story, it is an honest look at a life change that taught countless lessons and a new way of looking at the world.

A worthwhile read.

[Kathy · Rating 5 out of 5]

It sounds like a dream job: managing Highborne Cay in the Exuma Islands near Nassau, Bahamas. Soft breezes, "island time", sunning, fishing, boating. I'll let the author tell you what sort of situations she & her husband faced during their five-year tenure: "We had captured burglars, wrapped a dead body in ice helped with illegal immigrants, salvaged boats on the rocks and attempted work in the medical profession." It was anything but easy, however, Peter & Kate Albury faced their unexpected adventures with great determination and (usually) good dispositions. I enjoyed this tale of an unusual job in an unusual place.

[Matt · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book has a time and a place. I read "Life on a Rock" while vacationing in Abaco. Albury has some interesting perspective but the initial reviews that I read of this book was controversial. I did not get this opinion from her writing. I did however enjoy the adventures and the perspective of the writer. This book is written in journal-like format and could use some additional drama/suspense. If you put Albury's island stories in the hands of a gifted writer this could have been a bestseller. Sitting on the beach in Bahamas sun I enjoyed the read.

[Ilona · Rating 3 out of 5]

Indispensible for anyone contemplating an idealistic idyllic change of life to an island. I'm sure technology has changed and improved some aspects of the reality of island-living that the author relates here; but technology has also made us more dependent on internet access (not always a given on an island) - and technology is available to the bad guys too, and Albury gives us a fair insight into the dangerous criminal elements.
The grammar and punctuation aren't great; her writing style is easy to read, but not buttoned up. Overall, a fun beach read.

[Jeralyn Lash-Sands · Rating 5 out of 5]

I had the advantage of meeting the author, K.A. Albury prior to the publication of her book “Life on A Rock,” which was published in 2008. Ms. Albury is an enchanting person who has vividly captured her fascinating experiences of living on an island in The Bahamas. I truly enjoyed reading about her Out-Island Adventures and recommend it to anyone that enjoys reading about real life lived differently.

[Calzean · Rating 1 out of 5]

Did not grab me. It read like a diary.
A corporate husband and wife leave their jobs and takeover the running of a small island in the Bahamas. They had to work hard, had a hard owner and too much responsibility.

[Bev · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting real life book..not riveting, but very interesting.

[Cheryl Jane · Rating 5 out of 5]

Unsophisticated but totally engaging this true life Bahamian island story.

[Lolilu]

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