I have SUCH an excellent book to recommend to you today!

Following Sunshine: A Voyage Around the Mind, Around the World, Around the Heart, by traveler extraordinaire Niamh McAnally, is equal parts travel, hope, hard work, compassion, and life wisdom. 

I picked it up—and all of a sudden, hours later, was crying happy tears at the end. I have no idea what my husband fed me all day, but I DO know that this was one book that captivated me from beginning to end. 

One of the many things I loved most about this book is the way that McAnally approaches travel: as vital, as part of a larger global community, and as an intercultural experience. By combining volunteering with travel, she can truly make an impact, both on herself and the communities she volunteers with.

Another impressive aspect of this book was Niamh's commitment to intercultural living and travel in her work in hospitality, volunteering, and in her writing and education career. Too often, people talk about travel, but not in a way that acknowledges that travel is a relationship between traveler, place, and the people that live there. This was, honestly, one of the very first books I've read that GOT IT; Niamh is an extraordinary writer and truly shares all sides of the travel experience. 

And, of course, life (and travel) is all about humility, learning, growing, love, and being open to new experiences. I'm so glad I read this book. 

Highly, highly recommended. 

Niamh McAnally (pronounced “Knee-if Mack-an-alley”) is an Irish-born bestselling author, keynote & corporate speaker, former TV director, and youngest daughter of the late BAFTA award-winning actor, Ray McAnally, and actor, Ronnie Masterson. Niamh has traveled all over the world and lived and worked as a volunteer in many island nations in the Caribbean and the South Pacific.

Niamh’s first book Flares Up: A Story Bigger than the Atlantic, was shortlisted in the 2023 Sunday Times Vikki Orvice Award. The Ray D’Arcy radio show chose her memoir-short Haul Out from over 3,000 entries for a coveted spot in the anthology A Page from My Life, and her whimsical series Falmouth Freddy and the Cruising Kanes has been serialized in Caribbean Compass Magazine. Niamh has also been published in The Journal, Sail, The Irish Times Abroad, Writing.ie, and Subsea magazines. Following Sunshine is the winner of the 2024 Literary Titan Gold Award for Nonfiction.

We were lucky enough to catch up with Niamh, and ask her about the book, inspiration, volunteering, global citizenship, and more. Here's what she had to say...

Please tell us about your new book, Following Sunshine.
Following Sunshine is a memoir that reads like a novel and will take you on a voyage around the mind, around the world and around the heart. Along the way, you’ll dive into underwater adrenalin-fueled moments to rescue an unconscious diver off the coast of Belize; command a reindeer sleigh in Lapland and photograph the Aurora Borealis; work on a turtle conservation program and be adopted by a local family in Vanuatu; support dolphin research along Kenya’s shores; travel to exotic destinations across the South Pacific like Bora Bora in French Polynesia and live off the grid in the Kingdom of Tonga tutoring teenagers whose parents work with humpback whales. 

And somewhere on the warm turquoise waters of the Bahamas, you’ll meet the solo sailor who awakened my heart and changed my life forever. 

What inspired you to write this memoir?
In sharing my story, I hope to show readers how to reinvent themselves when they come to a crossroads in life and how to combine traveling the world as a volunteer with an opportunity for personal growth. 

To those still searching for love, my story will give hope that it is never too late to meet that someone who will bring joy and laughter to your life and encourage you to become the best version of yourself. In FOLLOWING SUNSHINE, you’re going to meet Gary, a solo sailor who needed crew to help him sail his boat from Florida to the Bahamas. I volunteered. I was supposed to be settling down after a year spent traveling, but I had always wanted to work at sea and the project was only supposed to last a month. I soon learned that when you live 24/7 in a 40ft space and have to rely on your fellow mariner for your safety, you get to know each other from the inside out. One month turned into four. Somewhere on the turquoise waters of the Exuma Island chain, a spark ignited between us, and we kissed the flame.

If my experiences can inspire even one person to live a vibrant, fulfilled life, then the eight years it took from writing the first line to publication day will have been worth it. But above all, I hope readers will embrace my new motto: Never put off a dream!

One of the things I love most about this book is the extraordinary amount of growth and learning that arose from volunteering. What enticed you to spend so much of you time traveling as a volunteer and what are your best tips for someone who is interested in volunteering abroad, to start? 
My best advice for anyone starting out is to know what you are passionate about and identify any skills that might be useful to the family, organization, or charity for whom you wish to volunteer. With my background as a TV director and later as a scuba instructor, for me it was marine conservation. There are many platforms that connect a host, or nonprofit agency with would-be volunteers. On some projects, you volunteer for free in exchange for food and lodging. On others, you pay to volunteer, which, I know, seems like an oxymoron. I’ve taken part in both, and I discuss the merits and rationale behind each approach in FOLLOWING SUNSHINE.

At eighteen, I left my home in Ireland and traveled abroad to study French language and literature in Paris. To support myself, I volunteered as a jeune-fille au pair (live-in nanny) in Paris. Going to school at the Sorbonne University and being immersed in the local community offered me the opportunity to adopt French culture and traditions, rather than learning about them. I knew then I wanted to become a traveler rather than a tourist. 

People often ask me what to pack for an extended trip, and my answer is this: Apart from the usual items you can find on any kit list (and a multi-purpose sarong), the most important thing to bring is your intuition. In my experience, it is the greatest “guidebook” of all. It will steer you away from trouble and help you identify scenarios that will suit your personality, but also allow you to contribute the best of yourself in the local community.

Your stories are not only memorable, but I learned so much from them. I, too, prefer nature and smaller towns to big cities...but it has taken me quite a while to realize that. Do you have any advice for cultivating the ability to be more self-aware, in terms of how, where, and why we resonate with some places, and not others - and take action on it? Everyone has FOMO, but any place may not always be a fit for us.
I believe the locales of our childhoods play a large role in influencing which places—cities or villages, mountains or flatlands, rivers or oceans—resonate with us. I grew up on Dublin bay, and in Paris I yearned for the sea. A classmate craved her native Austrian Alps, another missed the skyscrapers of Manhattan. Even early vacations can have an impact. My first overseas trip, at twelve, was to Spain. It was February. Unlike in Ireland, I discovered that there were places in the world where the sun shone even in winter. Astonishing. Right then, I asked for an atlas for my birthday, and I knew as soon as I was old enough to leave home I would follow the sun.

So, I suggest you reach back in your mind to a time and place where you felt truly happy. Where were you? What made the time and place so special for you? Also, ask yourself “If all my financial, physical, emotional, and spiritual needs were met, where would I want to live and what would I want to be doing?” If that is too difficult then I suggest flipping the question—“Where would I not want to live, and what would I not want to be doing?” Sometimes working by a process of elimination can help bring your true desires to the surface. 

Too often, travelers forget about the very real people that live in a place, and work in hospitality or have to deal with an influx of tourists. In your experiences of travel and working in the hospitality and volunteering, I'm sure you have hard-earned advice for us. How can we all be better travelers and global citizens?
It is my belief that the path to global citizenship begins before you leave home. The practice of gratitude will put you in a state of appreciation for all those you encounter on your travels, from taxi drivers to flight attendants, ships’ crews to customs and immigration. And when you arrive at your destination, hotel workers.

The hospitality business is tough, usually requiring employees to work long and unsociable hours. And the front-line workers (front desk agents, bar keepers, restaurant servers, housekeepers) often take the brunt of a guest’s dissatisfaction even when the issue is out of their control. For example, in countries where tipping is part of the culture, why would you not leave a gratuity for a member of wait staff if their service was exemplary, but the food wasn’t? He or she has little control over the quality or timeliness of food prepared by the chef.

Remember “The Butterfly Effect”? A single action in one country can affect a stranger in a faraway land which can either benefit or hinder that human being’s experience. When we travel, we become an ambassador for our town, region, or country. It is incumbent on us to leave a good impression.

What's up next for you? 
I’ve just finished curating an anthology of short stories with works from nine authors across the globe: UK, Ireland, Australia, and America. STORIES OF PLACE will be published by Black Rose Writing in 2025. Our storytelling crosses many genres, from fast-paced thrillers to quiet family sagas, from literary musings to tender memoirs, and from tales of adventure to LGBTQ+ and coming-of-age narratives. We married our eclectic styles around the central theme of ///What3Words — an algorithm that has divided the surface of Earth into three-metre by three-metre squares – 57 trillion of them – and gives each a unique three-word address. The subtitle of the work is ///zinc.level.blindfold which denotes the exact location we were when we conceived the idea for the anthology and each story is titled with the ///What3Words address in which it is set. On May 15th, 2025, we will host nine book launches on the same day and same local time in the nine locations across the world.

In the meantime, I’m also working on adapting my previous book, FLARES UP, into a screenplay. After three years sailing up and down the east coast of America and through the Bahamas, Gary and I sailed down to the Caribbean. We happened to be in Antigua when two middle-aged men came ashore, having rowed a 20ft wooden boat 3,000 nautical miles across the Atlantic Ocean. I photographed their moment of triumph after they crossed the finish line and held their flares up. We were so moved by the experience and fascinated by their achievement we invited them on to our boat for their first home cooked meal in two and a half months! I showed them the photo I had taken. Paul said it summed up not just the four-year struggle it took to prepare for the trip, but the 70 days they spent at sea, as well. I agreed to write their story, not about how, but about why they rowed that ocean, how it affected their families, and how the experience changed them as human beings. That iconic photo became the front cover. It still gives me goosebumps. Their courage and determination inspire all of us to achieve goals we set ourselves, push past any obstacles we may face and to live our greatest lives. Everyone who has read it has asked when they can see the movie or TV series of it on Netflix, so back to the laptop I go.

How can people find your work?
Visit my website for up-to-date information on my upcoming publications, events, interviews, and speaking engagements. I love hearing from readers and offer entertaining behind-the-scenes presentations both in person and via zoom for book clubs who choose one of my books for their group. You’ll also find the Celebrity Cruises on which I am a guest speaker in the Beyond The Podium series. If you wish to  engage me to speak at your corporation, club or organization reach out via the website.

Website: www.thewriteronthewater.com

You can also follow me on various social media platforms:

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/niamh_mcanally/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TheWriterOnTheWater
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/niamh-mcanally-23b434236/
TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@thewriteronthewater_?lang=en
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@keenore