One of the most candid and eloquent fishing memoirs ever written. This is Laurence's unusual fishing autobiography in which he talks openly about how, as a young man, his excessive drinking brought him to an important turning point in his fishing life. This is elegantly interwoven around his lively views on the northern upstream tradition, catch-and-release, worming and other topics.





In the second part of the book, Laurence embarks on what he expects to be an idyllic time as he takes early retirement and looks forward to even more shooting and fishing – when a personal crisis plunges him into a nervous breakdown. This frank exploration of how fishing became impossible to contemplate during the darkest days but how it went on to form an essential part of eventual recovery, is a new departure in angling literature and will strike a chord with many readers.

This is a surprisingly funny, honest and moving memoir which pushes back the boundaries of eloquent fishing literature.



This is a remarkable book: remarkable for its candour, its high peaks of great joy and its deep troughs of melancholy and depression. It is also, as Catlow fans have come to expect, beautifully written. This is a wonderful book that will delight and sadden you. Highly recommended.



While he discusses techniques, notably his admiration for the upstream wet fly, this book is essentially a profound expression of love for a river and a recognition of the healing power that ultimately flowed from that love.  This is a truly remarkable book and a most compelling read. It is in my view Laurence Catlow's finest work as well as one of the most candid autobiographies I have read.



It is an inspiring account. It shows how the angling brotherhood can be a source of comfort as when 'true friends who belonged to my fishing life generously stepped out of it when I could fish no longer'.