Seaglass

Essays that blend nature writing with memoir.

On a wild and windswept stretch of the Durham coastline, there’s treasure to be found: jewels of shining sea glass, swept in by the tide after years at sea. Gathered together and displayed in a jar on the windowsill to sparkle in the light, each seaworn glass pebble represents a moment in time, a breadcrumb trail of unknowable people and places.

In Seaglass, Kathryn Tann brings together moments such as these from her own life, blending creative nonfiction with nature writing and memoir, and portraying with powerful observation and moving honesty the journey of a young woman navigating modern adulthood. Each essay is rooted in a physical space, from Manchester to the South Wales coastline and out to the Thousand Islands in Canada’s Saint Lawrence River. Traversing wilderness, natural history, travel, and water – rivers, lakes, coastlines, and leisure centers – Seaglass explores shared experiences, anxieties, connection, body confidence, and contentment.