Enchanted Islands

“A magical and hugely captivating journey – filled with such beauty, wonder and surprise. A simply marvellous read, hugely recommended” – Stephen Fry

A real-life journey through the fantastical world of The Odyssey

It started with a boy, of course. Seeking solace from the pain of heartbreak and her father’s illness, Laura Coffey embarks on what was meant to be a simple holiday. But her newfound fascination with ancient Greek myths transforms her trip into a six-month odyssey, around tiny archipelagos and mystical Mediterranean islands thought to be the setting of Odysseus’s epic journey. As she chases one of the most conflicted, flawed and yet beloved heroes through his fantastical sea-kingdoms, looking for the places where geography and mythology collide, she discovers the wild beauty of the islands, and the redemptive powers of travel and nature, cold-water swimming, long hikes up mountains, and luminous star-lit skies.

But her quest to find happiness, safety and the true meaning of home is overshadowed by the deepening illness of her father. Returning as he’s dying, forced to confront the very things she was running from, Laura reflects on what she has lost, how to live between story and reality, and the way we craft our own mythologies. Slipping between the mythical realm and the real world, she finds enchantment and healing in the magic of both.

“If you love memoir and Greek mythology, this is a delight. A spellbinding book about growing up, grieving and the gods.” – Clare Pollard, author of Delphi

Author Biography

Laura Coffey is a travel writer, happiest in motion. She’s newly addicted to cold water swimming, has an old addiction to adventure, and loves to write about the wild beauty of the places she visits and the people she meets as she roams through the world. Her work has been published in places like Conde Nast Traveller, The Guardian and BBC Travel. She is a certified yoga teacher, solo travel enthusiast and excitable bird-nerd. When she is not writing, Laura can be found cycling across London, stretching out on her yoga mat, or best of all, planning an escape to a remote island.

Instagram: l_j_coffey