LoveReading Says
In Moderate Becoming Good Later, the remarkable Toby Carr paddles out in a kayak to visit every area of the Shipping Forecast, BBC Radio 4’s daily weather update for the nautical. The forecast is a long-running broadcast popular for its prayer-like rhythm and romantic area names such as Dogger, Trafalgar, Fair Isle, Viking... in total 31 zones which surround these islands and connect us with Europe.
While once essential for anyone doing business on the waves, the shipping forecast is now mostly listened to for pleasure, a poetic incantation firmly grounded in British popular culture. For Toby, coming from a sea-faring family it’s the call of his childhood, and when his brother Marcus dies, he is drawn to it for his mission. Having himself already survived cancer once, Toby is well aware that the life-limiting genetic condition that led to his brother’s cancer will no doubt someday come looking for him once more and he refuses to sit around and wait for it.
Knowing that Toby will die before the end of the book, and possibly before he completes his adventure, adds an intense poignancy to his tales. As he meets and connects with remarkable people, visits strange shorelines and confronts a full range of weather conditions it is constantly in our minds that every second of human life matters and all that is encountered is to be savoured and shared. And savour it he does with contagious enthusiasm and a great lust for life. It’s an uplifting read, and you can smell the salt and feel the swell of the sea on every turned page as Toby pushes himself forward with immense fortitude and good humour.
In the end it is Toby’s sister, Katie Carr who must pick up the task of taking this book to publication. The family bond is strong and Katie’s love for her brother is there on every page, because it was she who has pored over his scrawled notes, maps and social media history to piece together the whole story. It’s difficult to imagine how heartbreaking this must have been, but the end result is a life-affirming work and an incredible achievement. She has most definitely done him proud. Moderate Becoming Good Later is a great adventure book with a deeper message about love and lifetime.
Greg Hackett
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Toby Carr, Katie Carr Press Reviews
Heartbreaking, and utterly wonderful. A journey that had to be made, and a story that had to be told. - Alex Bescoby, adventurer and author
The sort of adventure I've often dreamed of late at night, with additional layers of poignancy and love. - Alastair Humphreys, adventurer and author
A very moving tale, in every way imaginable. - Tristan Gooley, author of The Natural Navigator
What a special book. A manifesto for living, loving and laughing full-heartedly, whatever life's storms and forecasts bring. A guide and companion for us all, whether we are embarking on voyages of our choosing or dealing with waves and storms dealt to us. - Sarah Outen, adventurer and author
Toby was a true adventurer, undaunted by rough seas or the waves his own health lashed upon him. Like the broadcast shipping forecast, this is a voyage against the clock. Toby's outrageously fearless spirit and good humour will not fail to uplift and spur you on to pursue your own adventures. - Zeb Soanes, broadcaster and author
You can almost taste the sea air reading Moderate Becoming Good Later. This incredibly moving story weaves together one family's story and shows the sense of hope and love that can be found through adventure even when things don't go according to plan. It's a privilege to be allowed a glimpse into life offshore Britain through Toby and Katie's words. - Elise Downing, adventurer and author of Coasting
The perfect book for our times: from tragedy and stormy seas, come hope, connection, and elemental awe. Exceptionally beautiful and moving, a book that conjures connection to people, places and the ocean with the immediacy, grace and clarity of a kayak cutting through sea spray. - David Gange, historian and author of The Frayed Atlantic Edge
An incredible read of adventure and life that will draw you in and inspire you to pursue your own journeys. Katie has truly honoured her brother with this gripping recount. - Jenny Tough, adventurer and author of Tough Women Adventure Stories and Solo
Moderate Becoming Good Later is a wonderfully salty adventure, a quixotic odyssey driven by equal parts grit and good humour around the stormy shores of western Europe. But what really elevates this above other travellers' tales is the astonishing and moving story of the book's completion - a remarkable collaboration across the ultimate gulf. - Tim Hannigan, travel, nature and history writer
As enduring as any ancient Scandinavian saga, this is a candidly honest tale of a risk-laden, yet existentially meaningful and powerful sea kayaking project. The descriptive and eloquent storytelling had me entranced from their first lines. I read this wonderful book often with a lump in my throat, many tears in my eyes and a racing pulse, because of the pure adventure of his inspirational physical and emotional endeavours. - Nick Ray, expedition sea kayaker and author
What a brave and tenderly written account of one man's fortitude in coming to terms with a shortened life using visits by kayak to the familiar shipping forecast sea areas as stepping stones on his final journey. - Peter Jefferson, broadcaster and author of And Now The Shipping Forecast
Courageous, uplifting and exquisitely written, Moderate Becoming Good Later is a tale of the indefatigable resilience of the human spirit, the unbreakable bond of family, the life-affirming kindness of strangers and the perpetual freedom of exploring the unknown. It's a testament to how a shared passion can break down borders - when kinship with our peers from abroad is needed more than ever. I'll never hear The Shipping Forecast the same way again. - Si Willmore, journalist, author and editor
Toby Carr's epic adventures by kayak fill with colour and life those familiar yet mysterious areas of the Shipping Forecast. Thrilling and moving in equal parts, it should inspire us all to get out into the world and embrace its beauty. - Wyl Menmuir, author
Moderate Becoming Good Later is not just the brave and revelatory account of Toby Carr's long kayak around the Shipping Forecast, it is also a sensitive and nuanced portrayal of the author's emotional journey as he paddled from Fair Isle to FitzRoy, from Thames to Trafalgar. One of the most moving and affecting books I've read in a long time, it is profound, thoughtful, fascinating and, above all, beautiful. - Charlie Carroll, author of The Lip, No Fixed Abode and The Friendship Highway
Engaging, well-observed, well-written and full of life wisdom. Anyone who liked The Salt Path will love this book. - Nic Compton, photographer, sailor and author of The Shipping Forecast: A Miscellany
A mesmerising and poignant story that shares how the sea can bring together people, places and purpose. This is a must-read book not just for sea kayakers, but for anyone looking for inspiration to make the most out of life. - Doug Cooper, author of Scottish Sea Kayaking and coach
It's rare to read a book that links place and motivation so clearly. Toby's story of seizing life's opportunities despite obstacles should inspire all of us to not let life pass us by. And the love of his sister Katie in finishing this story for Toby is profoundly moving. - Ash Bhardwaj, travel journalist and broadcaster
A fascinating account of the people, places and conditions encountered in paddling a kayak around some of the areas covered by the well-loved Shipping Forecast. - Storm Dunlop, author of The Weather Almanac
Armchair travel at its best. And I say armchair because I was very happy to just read this one, with all its thrills and spills, without feeling the need to go and do it myself. At times, I could practically feel the ocean churning beneath me, and my queasy stomach doing somersaults. A unique and heart-warming adventure, and beautifully written too. Bravo. - Simon Parker, journalist and author of Riding Out
A beautiful, poignant but ultimately uplifting reminder to us that life is an adventure and we need to snatch every minute before it's gone. - Gavin Knight, author of The Swordfish and The Star
About Toby Carr, Katie Carr
Toby Carr was an architect and senior lecturer at Falmouth University, who in 2018 set off to sea kayak all 31 areas of the Shipping Forecast in order to connect with nature, find connection across the seas and deal with the death of his brother, Marcus. He kept detailed recordings, notes and photos, and shared his trip on social media.
Tragically Toby passed away from liver cancer in January 2022 having successfully pitched the book about his story, Moderate Becoming Good Later.
Katie Carr is a British author, artist, educator and coach who never imagined her first book having anything to do with sea kayaking. But when her adventurer brother Toby died in 2022 having sketched out a book, she decided to write it for him. On her year-long journey through loss, frustration, creation and storytelling, Katie was able to put into practice her training in expressive arts therapy and talked the talk on storytelling, as she had so often encouraged her graduate students to do.
After many years travelling the world in business storytelling roles, Katie had always expected to write a book, just not this one. She can currently be found at home in Barcelona, wrangling two young boys or learning to kayak to finish Toby's adventure.
More About Toby Carr, Katie Carr
