From Ship to Shore and a Whole Lot More

Author: Michelle Clarke

Published: June 2021

It's an unusual book in many ways; not just because there are still relatively few people in the shipping industry talking publicly about transgender issues, but also because of the form the memoir takes. Clarke has chosen to tell her story in the third person, referring to her pre-transition self as 'Michael' and talking of 'his' childhood and life as a bisexual young man, and then in later years she speaks of the same person as Michelle.

This is useful from the perspective of the maritime community, as many Telegraph readers may remember Michael Clarke from his time as a cadet and officer in the 1970s on vessels such as the Atlantic City, Port Alberni City and New Westminster City. It wasn't all plain sailing for Michael, but there were plenty of japes too, and the seafaring memories in the book are mostly positive ones.

Read the Nautilus Telegraph's review of From Ship to Shore and a Whole Lot More