HEIDA: A Shepherd at the Edge of the World

As heard on BBC Radio 4's Start the Week, this is the inspiring story of an Icelandic sheep farmer, former model and feminist heroine who is a force of nature. 'I want to tell women they can do anything, and to show that sheep farming isn't just a man's game.' Heida is a solitary farmer with a flock of 500 sheep in a wild area bordering Iceland's highlands, an area so remote it is known as the 'End of the World'. One of her neighbours is Iceland's most notorious volcano Katla, which has periodically driven away the inhabitants of Ljotarstaoir ever since people first started farming there in the 12th century. Divided into four seasons, the book tells the story of a remarkable year, when Heida reluctantly went into politics to fight plans to raise a hydro-electric power station on her land. The book paints an unforgettable portrait of a remote life close to nature, telling a heroic tale of a charismatic young woman who walked away from a career as a model to take over the family farm at the age of 23. Vivid stories of her animals and farmwork mingle with her wry poems and sense of community and here is life from a very different angle, a shepherd's life spent watchful of the dangers of earthquakes and glaciers, herding the last sheep back from the upper mountain slopes by quadbike before the deadly snows of winter descend. 305pp, fairly large print.