There is news in the Bahamian book world! After almost three years in the writing, a true story has now been published and released about life on a small island in the Central Bahamas during the mid-90s.

LIFE ON A ROCK by Bahamian author, K. Alison Albury, has taken the local book market by storm. It is a tale of true adventure, experienced by the author and her husband in their five years of managing the small island resort of Highborne Cay in Exuma during the mid-1990s.

Most people think this would be a vacation paradise—to live and work on a small island, away from the stoplights and confusion of everyday life.

This book will tell a different story. Kate and her husband were met with challenges they never dreamed were possible. From an armed robbery, disasters at sea and illegal immigrants to drug traffickers, a plane crash and more, Kate learned about courage, stick-ability and patience as she and her husband struggled with the responsibilities of managing the island; and they learned about themselves in the process.

Tasters from the book:

....I had given them everything and they were going to kill Peter! From face-down on the tile floor I screamed at them, “There’s no more money! There’s no more money! We don’t have a safe! Geezus, we’re telling you the truth! We don’t keep a lot of money on the cay!”

Now, one of the burglars noticed my rings and gold chain necklace. “OK, bitch, take off da jewels,” he demanded, as the barrel of his gun tap-tap-tapped on my earrings. With my face still facing the floor, I reached up and took off my earrings, a gold necklace and my heirloom engagement ring. I heard Peter unbuckle his watch. Was it going to stop there?...”

 

“…...My plan was to rest the Late Mr. von Straggart flat on the shroud, pack the ice tightly around his body, and roll up the sailcloth to secure its contents.

Isaac looked at me, long and hard. “This ain’t my idea of fun.” There was trepidation in his voice. Touching dead people was something he’d never done, and he didn’t like it. I couldn’t blame him.

“I’ll get you some rubber gloves, Isaac. Would that make it any easier?”

"Yes, m’am, it sure would.”

I drove back to the house and grabbed my kitchen gloves, praying they would fit Isaac’s big hands. I needed Isaac’s help. The gloves better damned-well fit!

Returning to the marina, we followed the plan. First we chipped up the ice blocks into small pieces. Second, we packed the chips firmly around the corpse as we simultaneously wrapped the shroud around it. It was a bigger job than I thought. With the heat of the day, we had to work fast with the ice. Afterwards, Isaac and I were both drenched in sweat, despite the fact that our hands were cold from handling the chipped ice. Lastly, I found some baling twine in Cheap Charlie’s cupboard to secure the shroud at each end. Only then did I stand back to assess our handiwork. What type of barbaric place was this?...”

Taken from a set of detailed journals that she kept while on Highborne Cay, Albury’s account about her everyday experiences in an isolated surrounding provide excitement and give a fresh and thought-provoking view of unusual events that were part of her life on this tiny, unprotected island in the Exumas. She soon learned that when they needed medical assistance, none was available. And, when they needed the law, they soon found out that they were the law.

From an independent review by Kirkus Discoveries:

… the author paints a vivid, heartfelt and surprising picture of Caribbean life.
“To say that there’s never a dull moment on Highborne Cay—where Albury and her husband have left their comfortable, big-city life in Nassau to work 12 to 14-hour days in a place reachable only by seaplane or boat—is a vast understatement. In the first 50 pages, armed robbers terrorize this native Bahamian couple, a guest nearly chops off his fingers in a fish-cleaning accident and a woman docks at the marina with her husband’s dead body aboard. If not for its highly specific details, this exotic memoir easily could be mistaken for fiction. The author moves us swiftly through her unusual world, scattering photos of the island and its inhabitants throughout the book, lending a personal touch. What’s not shown in pictures is deftly illustrated in words. Albury introduces wonderfully drawn characters adding life to the narrative. …to her credit she doesn’t flinch from the uncomfortable truth of the Caribbean’s inequality and poverty.. From watching a Sperm whale being devoured by tiger sharks to staying on the alert for drug runners, Albury reveals that island life is less a breeze than a whirlwind.”