The idea of living alone for years on a deserted island might be a nightmare for some, but for Tom Neale it was his dream come true. He spent 16 years of his life on remote Suwarrow in the Cook Islands and became world famous when he told his story in the book, “An Island to Oneself”.
Now, nearly 60 years after its publication his daughter, Stella Neale has provided a new perspective on the remarkable story with her own epilogue in a new edition of the book. In this podcast, Stella reflects affectionately and at times emotionally on her father’s extraordinary life. She talks about how he was misunderstood and why he chose to live hundreds of miles away from the nearest civilisation. She also reads extracts from that new epilogue. This is a unique and fascinating insight into an icon of Cook Islands history.
The updated (2024) edition of "An Island to Oneself" is published by HarperCollins (New Zealand) and is available as a hardback (ISBN 978 1 7755 4266 7) and ebook (ISBN 978 1 7754 9297 9)

ABOUT ME
I'm a retired BBC radio and TV journalist and presenter who's been having a long distance love affair with the Cook Islands for nearly 40 years and I've featured in media worldwide as an expert on this remote islands nation. CONTACT ME if you'd like to sponsor this podcast or just want to ask questions about the Cook Islands. Email kiaoranawebsiteauthor(at)cookislands.org.uk (Replace “at” with @)

MY BOOK ABOUT THE ISLANDS
Whether you're planning a visit or just armchair travelling, you'll discover stories of buried treasure, ghostly fire, real-life Robinson Crusoes and the mafia, and a wealth of useful information. 'Around the Corner from Nowhere: The Cook Islands Rediscovered' is available as an ebook (https://getbook.at/Cook_Islands-ebook) or paperback (https://getbook.at/cookislandsbook) through Amazon. An updated 2025 version has just been published. All profits are donated to dementia charities

EXPLORE ALL 15 OF THE COOK ISLANDS
My website is the most detailed guide on the net at Cook Islands complete guide. It's also THE ONLY TOTALLY INDEPENDENT GUIDE ON THE INTERNET with information about each and every one of the 15 islands