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| Voracious 25 October 2022 |
Journey deep into the Scottish Highlands in the first memoir by #1 New York Times bestselling author and star of Outlander, Sam Heughan—exploring his life and reflecting on the waypoints that define him
"I had to believe, because frankly, I had come so far there could be no turning back."
In this intimate journey of self-discovery, Sam sets out along Scotland's rugged ninety-six-mile West Highland Way to map out the moments that shaped his views on dreams and ambition, family, friendship, love, and life. The result is a love letter to the wild landscape that means so much to him, full of charming, funny, wise, and searching insights into the world through his eyes.
Waypoints is a deeply personal journey that reveals as much about Sam to himself as it does to his readers.
I don't read many celebrity memoirs however, this look into the life of the charismatic leading man of the Outlander series was too much to resist, and even better when it was gifted to me by my lovely daughter for my recent birthday.
There is no doubt, whatsoever, that Sam Heughan has charm, every interview on television shows him to be intelligent, articulate, filled with a refreshing joie de vivre and with a social conscience which has seen him use his considerable online profile to raise a substantial amount of money for the charities he supports so tirelessly. Add into the mix his handsome good looks and his capacity for mischief and you have all the winning ingredients for an engrossing read.
Mostly, I think of Sam Heughan as Jamie Fraser personified, however, Waypoints gives us a very different man to the one we have come to know on our TV screens and we discover that underneath the tough Scottish exterior is a man riven by doubt and sometimes challenged by what life has thrown at him. This introspective, and very personal, journey along the ninety-six-mile West Highland Way allows Sam the luxury of time out of his busy schedule in order to take stock of his life and it shows, not just in his abiding love for his beloved Scotland, but also his aching vulnerability. As we discover over the course of the book the West Highland Way is not for the faint hearted and even Sam’s endurance is tested as he meets all manner of Scottish weather but his determination not to give up is what makes this such a fascinating read.
Some memoirs can get a bit lost in the detail but this is nicely divided into Sam’s thoughts and feelings as he takes in the splendour of the place he calls home and yet we are also given a candid account of Sam’s struggle to make it as a actor and of his commitment to never giving up on his dream. I've really enjoyed spending time with Sam, he is a good raconteur, a gifted actor and an all round wonderful human being. I wish him every success both on, and off, screen.
I am delighted to make Waypoints:My Scottish Journey my Featured Book of the Month for December.
☕Best read with.. a dram of good Scottish whisky. Slainté
Sam Heughan was born April 30, 1980 in New Galloway, Dumfries and Galloway, Scotland. An accomplished stage and screen actor best known for Outlander (2014), A Princess for Christmas (2011), and A Very British Sex Scandal (2007). He is an active patron of Youth Theatre Arts Scotland and Leukemia and Lymphoma Research. He attended the Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama (now the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland) located in Glasgow, Scotland.
Twitter @SamHeughan #Waypoints
@radarbooks
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