‘I must go in; the fog is rising’ Liminal, elusive and ultimately disappearing – far from just being a meteorological condition, fog is a state of mind; a plot device; a shortcut to a dank and spooky setting. As with these words from Emily Dickinson, her final written words before her death, it can signify a shift of mood or a transformation. Chasing Fog is a captivating meditation on fog and mist. Laura Pashby hunts for fog, walks and swims in it, explores its role in literature, mythology and history and also its environmental significance. There has been a 50 per cent drop in ‘fog events’ in the past fifty years, fog is drifting away without us noticing and the ecological impact could be calamitous. As she journeys to the foggiest places she can find, Pashby immerses herself in Dartmouth’s dangerous fog, searches for the Scottish haar, experiences Venice’s magical mist, tell us the myths behind the River Severn’s fog and the shipwrecks it hides. It’s about how we see the world and ourselves, and how a simple cloud of water droplets can make everything – including us – feel different.
'This quirky book, illustrated with her atmospheric black and white photographs makes the case for getting out and appreciating the magic of a foggy day’ * Mail on Sunday * 'Pashby takes us into the heart of fog and conjures it powerfully — you are there with her in the mists and sea fret. She also comes bearing a warning. In the opening pages, she quotes from a 2009 study that showed fog, mist, and haze were all in decline across Europe. Pashby worries too about her own efforts to find it, and fears it may soon be a tale of the past, like the frost fairs on the Thames she writes about so elegantly. Let us hope not, for this book, which captures the weird wonderfulness of fog, may make a convert out of you too' * Evening Standard * 'A lovely meander through foggy landscapes and their meanings' -- Katherine May 'A charming exploration of fog, mist, haar and haze that captures that dreamy state of mind that accompanies it and the uncanny aspect of low visibility. Laura Pashby guides us across gloomy moors lit by will-o-the-wisps, past clifftop beacons beating out their loyal rhythms, and through the labyrinthine, mist-wreathed streets of Venice. Eerie and evocative' -- Cal Flyn 'An ode to the magic of the unknown, the unpredictable and the unseen; Chasing Fog is both fascinating and gorgeously written. Haunting and beautiful, this surprising mix of nature-writing and memoir draws us into the strange and nuanced world of fog and reminds us of the potency and potential in moments of dream and drift' -- Rebecca Schiller 'Laura Pashby approaches that most mysterious and misunderstood weather with a photographer’s eye and a writer’s curiosity: this clear-sighted and loving ode to fog is a beautiful adventure' -- Alice Vincent 'Pashby’s quest "to find a depth of meaning and magic" in fog results in a frequently beguiling and thought-provoking book, one that offers a way of looking at the world and its weather in a subtly different light' * Literary Review * ‘An exquisite piece of nature writing’ * i * 'A lushly sensuous exploration of the many possibilities that arise from fog, so vivid that by the end I could feel it clinging to my skin' -- Dr Sharon Blackie 'Chasing Fog is a meditation on how this frequent yet freaky weather condition transforms our travels…Pashby accompanies her writing with the sort of beautiful, hazy images that have won her Instagram account nearly 100,000 followers' * National Geographic Traveller *
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