Publishers Weekly
07/15/2024
British conservationist Gibson explores her passion for fishing in this captivating debut. As a child, Gibson cast for trout with her mother at a farm near their home in Gloucestershire. That hobby became an obsession—Gibson opted for a 21st birthday present of fishing rods over jewelry—and then a career, with Gibson promoting fishing gear for Orvis and then becoming a certified instructor in Yorkshire, where she eventually opened her own fishing school. As Gibson traces her career path, highlighting the “soft misogyny” she faced from internet commenters and male fishermen, she also reflects on personal milestones, including a trip to Bolivia to capture “one of the most powerful game fish in the world” and her rocky marriage to a man she calls “B.” Through it all, Gibson remains a winning narrator, fortifying the potentially niche material with lyrical prose (“Like Ariadne’s thread, this unspooling line of fishing memories and experiences has led me out of some corners that felt dark and unnavigable”). This moving meditation will even sink its hooks into readers who’ve never cast a line. Agent: Rebecca Wearmouth, Peters, Fraser & Dunlop. (June)
From the Publisher
An engaging, endearing, deeply felt book. A moving portrait of the end of a marriage and an absorbing account of the Atlantic salmon, one of the world’s great creatures.” —David Coggins, author of The Optimist
“A unique and very enjoyable story, filled with simple joys and more complex challenges.” —Tristan Gooley, author of How to Read a Tree
“A revealing book about life, salmon, and angling. Marina Gibson’s writing is as exquisite as her casting.” —Paul Whitehouse, author of How We Fish
“An engaging, forthright and impressive debut. This highly personal memoir will appeal to anyone who loves what fishing can bring to life... fluent and assured.” —David Profumo, author of The Lightning Thread
"Gibson compares the harrowing natural history of the Atlantic salmon to her own restless, sometimes reckless life and illustrates that, although it really is possible to find serenity and purpose through fly-fishing, getting there can be a long, strange trip." —John Gierach, author of All the Time in the World
"A well-wrought story of love, self-love, and fly fishing. Marina Gibson's book illuminates the healing power of practicing something complicated while immersed, literally, in the natural world. A book for lovers of memoir and anyone who thrills to the catch." —Kristin Kimball, author of The Dirty Life
“If you came here for angling action, you won’t be disappointed.... Catch, Cast, Release is a wonderful tale of one woman’s love affair with fly fishing, initiated by her mother on the banks of a salmon river. She turned that love into a lifelong adventure, fly rod in hand. Along the way, she used the mindfulness afforded by the rhythmic casting to ease her through life’s rough patches.” —Sport Fishing
"A pleasant and quick read that illustrates how one woman’s passion puts her directly downstream from her purpose." —CastingAcross.com
