We were sitting at the kitchen table when my husband told me he wanted to separate. After that, there was nothing in the house that could hold me. So I went to the sea.

What can we do when life gets stormy? Psychotherapist Emma Reed Turrell’s life had felt steady and settled, until it didn’t. In this lyrical and compassionate book, she explores a time in her life when everything changed: her mother’s illness and death, the collapse of her marriage, her diagnosis of autism. She charts what it means to endure difficult times and build resilience; how to hold together a life that no longer feels like it belongs to you.

Emma sought solace by the sea, walking along the beach with her dog and looking out to the line where the sky met the water. She found comfort watching the boats go by, wondering how she could learn to stay afloat.

During this difficult time, Emma was working as a psychotherapist and alongside these intimate stories, she weaves in two decades of clinical experience, sharing client stories and reflections, learning that the sea will always rise and fall. What matters is the vessel we make of ourselves, and how we choose to carry one another.

Life Boat is a gentle and empathetic exploration of what it means to be alive. It offers companionship in uncertainty - and a reminder that none of us sail alone.