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Thunderstone: A true story of losing one home and discovering another
Can a tiny vehicle provide the space to rebuild a life? A beautiful, fearless memoir of uncertainty, self-discovery—and van life.
‘It was believed lightning would not strike a house that held a thunderstone. And so these fossils were placed on top of clocks, under floorboards, over stable doors . . . But there are some storms that thunderstones cannot prevent.’
In the wake of a traumatic lockdown, Nancy Campbell buys an old caravan and drives it into a strip of neglected woodland between a canal and railway. It is the first home she has ever owned. It will not move again.
As summer begins, Nancy embraces the challenge of how to live well in a space in which possessions and emotions often threaten to tumble. She masters the van’s mysterious mechanics, but as empty passenger trains rumble past inches from the windows, rain and grief threaten to flood in.
Yet soon, Nancy’s encounters with the community of boaters moored nearby, and their lessons in survival off-grid, prove fundamental. The wasteland burgeons into a place of wild beauty, as Nancy works to clear industrial junk and create a forest garden. And as illness and uncertainty loom once more, it is these unconventional relationships, this anchored van, that will bring her solace and hope.
An intimate journal across the span of a defining summer, Thunderstone is a celebration of transformation; an invitation to approach life with imagination and to embrace change bravely.
‘It was believed lightning would not strike a house that held a thunderstone. And so these fossils were placed on top of clocks, under floorboards, over stable doors . . . But there are some storms that thunderstones cannot prevent.’
In the wake of a traumatic lockdown, Nancy Campbell buys an old caravan and drives it into a strip of neglected woodland between a canal and railway. It is the first home she has ever owned. It will not move again.
As summer begins, Nancy embraces the challenge of how to live well in a space in which possessions and emotions often threaten to tumble. She masters the van’s mysterious mechanics, but as empty passenger trains rumble past inches from the windows, rain and grief threaten to flood in.
Yet soon, Nancy’s encounters with the community of boaters moored nearby, and their lessons in survival off-grid, prove fundamental. The wasteland burgeons into a place of wild beauty, as Nancy works to clear industrial junk and create a forest garden. And as illness and uncertainty loom once more, it is these unconventional relationships, this anchored van, that will bring her solace and hope.
An intimate journal across the span of a defining summer, Thunderstone is a celebration of transformation; an invitation to approach life with imagination and to embrace change bravely.
- GenresNonfiction
256 pages, Paperback
Published September 12, 2023
1 person is currently reading
28 people want to read
About the author
Nancy Campbell
57 books22 followersNancy Campbell is the editress of ABOVE RUBIES, a magazine devoted to bringing strength and encouragement to women in their roles as wives and mothers. Printed since 1977, ABOVE RUBIES serves as a lifeline to marriages and families all around the globe.
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Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews
April 23, 2023
A memoir of life in lockdown, examining attitudes to health and the way we interact with the world around us.
The author’s account is based on her journals but it is, above all, a deeply personal exploration of the self and her relationship with those around her.
I was fortunate to be gifted a copy of this by the publishers in exchange for my review.
The book opens with her realisation that her relationship with her partner has drawn to a close. Unfortunately, this realisation takes place as her partner is suffering the after-effects of a stroke and as the country goes into lockdown. A deeply difficult situation to deal with at any time, and I was struck by how few people she seemed to have around her that you might, traditionally, expect to offer support.
Campbell decides to buy an old caravan off eBay and find a way to forge a new life in this remote home. She describes the process with grim humour, and there is a clear sense of her finding a new community amongst those living in their unconventional homes.
Some of the descriptions of the natural world and her observations during this time show how many of us were forced to slow down during lockdown and to reevaluate our ideas about what is important. When she is faced with her own health issues this new community of support comes into its own.
An insight into an unusual situation and there were some interesting details shared. Ultimately, I found myself wondering why we stopped so abruptly and being curious about the details that were not shared/ignored that might have offered us a fuller picture of the author and her experience.
The author’s account is based on her journals but it is, above all, a deeply personal exploration of the self and her relationship with those around her.
I was fortunate to be gifted a copy of this by the publishers in exchange for my review.
The book opens with her realisation that her relationship with her partner has drawn to a close. Unfortunately, this realisation takes place as her partner is suffering the after-effects of a stroke and as the country goes into lockdown. A deeply difficult situation to deal with at any time, and I was struck by how few people she seemed to have around her that you might, traditionally, expect to offer support.
Campbell decides to buy an old caravan off eBay and find a way to forge a new life in this remote home. She describes the process with grim humour, and there is a clear sense of her finding a new community amongst those living in their unconventional homes.
Some of the descriptions of the natural world and her observations during this time show how many of us were forced to slow down during lockdown and to reevaluate our ideas about what is important. When she is faced with her own health issues this new community of support comes into its own.
An insight into an unusual situation and there were some interesting details shared. Ultimately, I found myself wondering why we stopped so abruptly and being curious about the details that were not shared/ignored that might have offered us a fuller picture of the author and her experience.
June 29, 2023
This is the story of the Nancy Campbell, a girl who was on the edge to break up with her mate but due to his down-health she decided to take care of him. But they talked and agreed that Nancy must move on to her new phase of life rather than worry for his declining health
.She decided to settle into a caravan and stayed rough on ground near one canal. During that covid period she spent almost a year in her van and wrote about her off-route experience and philosophical ideas.
She even get ill herself during that time while using the stove that release gas not good for health. Her lone life start to get jammed with the thoughts of getting back to the world of reality but harsh one. She learned a lot during that time.
This source of this title is the stone author get from Denmark, a fossil stone. That Thunderstone is basically an amulet.
It was good reading this experiencing memoir.
My NetGalley review.
.She decided to settle into a caravan and stayed rough on ground near one canal. During that covid period she spent almost a year in her van and wrote about her off-route experience and philosophical ideas.
She even get ill herself during that time while using the stove that release gas not good for health. Her lone life start to get jammed with the thoughts of getting back to the world of reality but harsh one. She learned a lot during that time.
This source of this title is the stone author get from Denmark, a fossil stone. That Thunderstone is basically an amulet.
It was good reading this experiencing memoir.
My NetGalley review.
April 11, 2023
In October 2019, the author's partner, Anna, had a stroke. Nancy Campbell was working in Germany at the time, but she rushed home to Britain to be with Anna, who would require a lot of recovery time. Their relationship had been changing before Nancy left for Germany, and before Anna left the hospital, they'd agreed that they would no longer be a couple, but that they would continue to live in their flat together for a year, with Nancy as Anna's carer. Of course, this was all happening just as we were all starting to learn about COVID 19. They went through lockdown together in this way. When it was time for Nancy to move out, she had nowhere to go. She considered couch-surfing, but a new-ish friend she'd met in the hospital told her about some friends of his who lived on a boat in a canal. There was a community of people there. Nancy couldn't afford a boat, but she could afford a caravan and there was a spot near the canal towpath where she could park it. So she bid £750 on a caravan listed on eBay, and ended up owning her first home. She knew nothing about caravans, but she learned a lot pretty quickly, living as she did with no electric, water, or sewer hook-ups. This book is a journal of that time in the author's life.
The title refers to a kind of fossil called a thunderstone in Denmark, where the author found one and brought it home. They are fossils of sea urchins with a 5-pointed star pattern, but Danish in folklore, the markings on the rock come from lightning strikes. Putting these in the corners of the home was thought to protect the family inside.
It's a beautifully written book, filled not only with descriptions of the author's experiences, but also of the natural world around her, which she was experiencing in a new way, her own feelings as she found herself changing along with her circumstances, and the quirky new friends she met along the way. I loved this book. My only regret about it is that it wasn't longer. The end seemed a little bit abrupt. I would have liked to have read more about Nancy's evolution and that of her relationships, both with the people in her life and with her new life circumstances. But I suppose that's the way with memoirs--they are necessarily limited to a certain period of time and have to end somewhere. Still, I think another month or two of the journal would have made this an even better book.
The title refers to a kind of fossil called a thunderstone in Denmark, where the author found one and brought it home. They are fossils of sea urchins with a 5-pointed star pattern, but Danish in folklore, the markings on the rock come from lightning strikes. Putting these in the corners of the home was thought to protect the family inside.
It's a beautifully written book, filled not only with descriptions of the author's experiences, but also of the natural world around her, which she was experiencing in a new way, her own feelings as she found herself changing along with her circumstances, and the quirky new friends she met along the way. I loved this book. My only regret about it is that it wasn't longer. The end seemed a little bit abrupt. I would have liked to have read more about Nancy's evolution and that of her relationships, both with the people in her life and with her new life circumstances. But I suppose that's the way with memoirs--they are necessarily limited to a certain period of time and have to end somewhere. Still, I think another month or two of the journal would have made this an even better book.
April 13, 2023
Originally posted on my blog Nonstop Reader.
Thunderstone is a memoir adapted from a journal written by Nancy Campbell after a breakup and during the covid lockdown. Hardcover edition released in fourth quarter 2022 by Elliott & Thompson, upcoming reformat and release in paperback and ebook formats are due out in third and second quarter 2023 respectively. It's 224 pages (in hardcover).
This is a short read, and it feels nearly transcribed directly from the dated journal entries. This gives the whole a very intimate and honest feel, sometimes quite jarringly so. The author describes the breakdown of her partnership and the health challenges her former partner faced from a stroke and recovery. In the end, Ms. Campbell moves into a stationary caravan/camper and spends a year writing, philosophizing, and trying to come to grips with the reality of the madness the world endured under covid.
There's a lyrical quality to the whole and I was fascinated to find that daily entries were engaging even for less-than-electrifying occasions: fixing her water supply, stocking the larder, meeting her neighbors. It would have been a very different book from a less adept wordsmith.
Four stars. This would be a good selection for public library acquisition, book club review, buddy read, or solo reading.
Disclosure: I received an ARC at no cost from the author/publisher for review purposes.
Thunderstone is a memoir adapted from a journal written by Nancy Campbell after a breakup and during the covid lockdown. Hardcover edition released in fourth quarter 2022 by Elliott & Thompson, upcoming reformat and release in paperback and ebook formats are due out in third and second quarter 2023 respectively. It's 224 pages (in hardcover).
This is a short read, and it feels nearly transcribed directly from the dated journal entries. This gives the whole a very intimate and honest feel, sometimes quite jarringly so. The author describes the breakdown of her partnership and the health challenges her former partner faced from a stroke and recovery. In the end, Ms. Campbell moves into a stationary caravan/camper and spends a year writing, philosophizing, and trying to come to grips with the reality of the madness the world endured under covid.
There's a lyrical quality to the whole and I was fascinated to find that daily entries were engaging even for less-than-electrifying occasions: fixing her water supply, stocking the larder, meeting her neighbors. It would have been a very different book from a less adept wordsmith.
Four stars. This would be a good selection for public library acquisition, book club review, buddy read, or solo reading.
Disclosure: I received an ARC at no cost from the author/publisher for review purposes.
June 2, 2023
Life takes many turns no even the rough roads can lead you to the most beautiful hidden places. Such is life for Nancy. A long, living-together love ends amicably, but Nancy soon returns to her and Anna’s flat when Anna suffers a stroke. Once Anna is better Nancy leaves the flat again. After some wanderings Nancy takes up residence in a small, well worn caravan by the river nestled in with thistles, weeds and wildflowers. There she becomes part of a small, eclectic group of characters living similar lives….introverts in a little wild plot just outside of town,
Nancy write poetically and describes rusty little utopia in ways that make me yearn for my little camper in the woods. I’m glad I read this as the snow is melting here so that I know I too can take refuge from the world in my tiny shelter.
This is a wonderful book for my fellow introverts and nature lovers to read. Pull up your camping chair, grab a cuppa, and savor Nancy’s story as well as quotes from the likes of Thoreau and Muir which are scattered here and there…..like wildflowers….in the text.
#Thunderstone #NancyCampbell #netgalley
Nancy write poetically and describes rusty little utopia in ways that make me yearn for my little camper in the woods. I’m glad I read this as the snow is melting here so that I know I too can take refuge from the world in my tiny shelter.
This is a wonderful book for my fellow introverts and nature lovers to read. Pull up your camping chair, grab a cuppa, and savor Nancy’s story as well as quotes from the likes of Thoreau and Muir which are scattered here and there…..like wildflowers….in the text.
#Thunderstone #NancyCampbell #netgalley
May 19, 2024
Thunderstone is a gorgeous sift through the author, Nancy’s life. Navigating life as a dreamer and artist in the midst of lockdown, heartbreak, health issues. Set in Oxford England through the Summer and into early Autumn. Seasons fade into one another and the words on the page enchant you. I ended the book feeling as if I too had lived in a caravan amongst the trees, the houseboats & the community of people who call the canal home. A cozy & methodical read.
August 6, 2023
I strongly concur. “A thoughtful and soothing book.” Also an intriguing window into van life and the writing life...where the relationship of humans and nature is mediated upon with grace and humor. The sparse poignant language acts as a friendly magnet.
December 9, 2023
Already I want to go back to the beginning and read this book again. Comforting and beautiful.
March 11, 2024
Okay book with a slow to start story. This one took me ages to get into because of the writing. It just felt like it took off slow and had a hard time gaining steam.
February 21, 2025
This was I think in some ways purposefully emotionally devoid and as a simple reader I would've liked more clear emotion but I love Oxford and plants and love and bravery
Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews