Waypoints: My Scottish Journey Book Review

Mother nature has a way of providing a fresh perspective as nothing else can. She challenges us to examine what we think we know and ask ourselves hard questions.

The new travelogue/ memoir, Waypoints: My Scottish Journey is written by Outlander star Sam Heughan. It is more than the average celebrity autobiography. While telling the story of his life and career, he describes the journey he took while hiking Scotland‘s West Highland Way.

Raised by his single mother after his father walked out on the family, Sam decided early on that he wanted to be an actor. Taking the typical route of a working performer, he would eventually earn worldwide fame as Jamie Fraser.

I truly enjoyed this book. Instead of coming off as obnoxious and “look at me”, Heughan is down-to-earth, intelligent, and warm. I appreciated his honesty about fame and its trapping, both good and bad. What struck me was the pressure to look a certain way in order to achieve success. Though it may appear to only be a woman’s issue, the truth is that it affects everyone who wants to be in front of the camera.

Do I recommend it? Yes.

Waypoints: My Scottish Journey is available wherever books are sold.

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Outlander Season 6 Review

I apologize for the late publishing of this review. Life got in the way.

Warning: this review has spoilers from the end of season 5. Read at your own risk if you have not seen season 5.

For as much creativity as it takes to start a new narrative, it takes more creativity to continue in multiple segments. The writer(s) must be willing and able to expand their horizons and allow the characters to grow beyond their initial storyline.

The new season of Outlander premiered earlier this month on Starz. It starts not long after the previous season ended. Claire (Caitriona Balfe) is still dealing with the emotional effects of being kidnapped and raped. Up until this point, she has been able to present a strong front and now show any weaknesses. But the experience has started to break down those walls.

In addition to being concerned about his wife, Jamie (Sam Heughan) is dealing with problems from his past and his present. Meeting up with an old rival, Tom Christie (Mark Lewis Jones), and his children Malva (Jessica Reynolds) and Allan (Alexander Vlahos), he comes face to face with a part of his life he would rather forget. While this is happening, the Revolutionary War is slowly getting closer to Fraser’s Ridge, threatening to upend the lives of its residents.

So far, this season has lived up to my expectations and then some. What I love is that the first few episodes have focused on where the characters are emotionally. Add in the clouds of war on the horizon and the reaction will be nothing short of explosive.

Do I recommend it? Absolutely.

Outlander airs on Sunday night at 9PM on Starz.

Outlander Review

The narrative of a stranger in a strange land is one of humanities oldest stories.

Outlander (based on the books of the same name by Diana Gabaldon) premiered on Starz back in 2014. In post World War II Scotland, former British military nurse Claire Randall (Caitriona Balfe) is enjoying a second honeymoon with husband Frank (Tobias Menzies). Then somehow, she is sent back two hundred years in the past. In order to survive, she marries Jamie Fraser (Sam Heughan).

Can she return to her own time and if she can’t, what changes must she make to adapt?

I am presently about 2/3rds of the way though the first season. Though I never read the books and cannot make any comparisons to the series, I am enjoying it. It has elements of the different genres that play well together to create a story that is engaging and very entertaining.

I absolutely recommend it.

Outlander is now streaming on Netflix.