Review of Bonnie Hancock’s The Girl Who Touched the Stars

by Melinda Edward (as on social media)

If you don’t already know her, Bonnie Hancock is a new living legend in the world paddling community. She recently made history, in fact, not once, but multiple times as a surfski paddler: first, by winning the Guinness World Record for being the fastest (and youngest) person to circumnavigate Australia by canoe/kayak on August 28, 2022; second, by beating a previous world record of the greatest distance paddled by a woman in 24 hours during her circumnavigation and finally, by beating both her own record of long-distance paddling in a 24-hour period and Quentin Rutherford’s in open water when she completed 235.24 km (146.17 miles) in Airlee, Queensland in September, not even a month after she finished her trip around Australia. I discovered Bonnie by accident while scrolling through Instagram late last year and was intrigued, since, like Bonnie, I had read with great interest Joe Glickman’s account of Freya Hofmeister’s previous record-setting achievement by sea kayak around Australia in his Fearless (2012), but before I had a chance to inquire if Bonnie would consider writing her own story, I was delighted when I saw that she was going to release The Girl Who Touched the Stars in January 2024. After reading this book twice,— such a repeat occurrence is very rare for me even as an avid reader,-- I decided to write the following review as I hope to spread the word as best I can about such an awe-inspiring female athlete in surfski paddling, a sport that has changed, and continues to change my life ineffably.

While Joe Glickman’s narrative of Hofmeister’s circumnavigation of Australia is an engaging adventure that could only be written with the literary and journalistic talent of the author, Bonnie’s narrative, directly inspired by Fearless, is an autobiography that allows the readers to feel as though they are reliving vicariously her adventure, almost daily from the germination of her idea to beat Freya to her Epilogue reflecting on the completion of her mission. A native of Sawtell, New South Wales, Bonnie Hancock was born to be an Australian water woman: growing up just 200 meters from the beach, she trained as a surf lifesaver in the footsteps of her three elder sisters, and also ran in the tradition of her father, a marathon foot-racer. She won 12 gold medals in the Australian Life Saving Titles during her youth and, she eventually transitioned from being an ironwoman to a ski paddler after becoming a dietitian by trade. A self-described “underdog,” the youngest and shortest of her sisters, and a year younger than her classmates when starting school, Bonnie admits that she grew up feeling a “need to prove myself” (20). What unfolds in her story is a psychological profile of a high-performance athlete: driven by a desire for adrenaline rush, risk-taking, and perfectionism through physical competition, Bonnie was in search of a raison d’être, which she promptly found after reading about Freya’s accomplishment. She dared herself to repeat a circumnavigation of her native country but faster and with better strategizing, which, involved among other aspects, taking the lightest surfski on the market along with an intermediate ski and a heavier plastic back-up to serve as a thicker buffer from crocodile jaws, taking advantage of the East Australian current while being the first paddler to take a clockwise route around Australia, and dramatically reducing the distance covered by her predecessors (from Freya’s “shortest” 14,000-km float plan to 12,700km). One major “short-cut” required Bonnie to be the first paddler to cross the Great Australian Bight, a 1,200-km stretch of treacherous ocean that would prove to be one of the greatest risks to Bonnie’s life and to that of her crew. 

Like Fearless, The Girl Who Touched the Stars is a paddler’s treasure trove of knowledge regarding a professional expedition. From learning about the logistics and funding of her circumnavigation, to the impact that the COVID-19 pandemic had on Bonnie’s mission and ability to paddle around Australia, paddlers and adventure-seekers of all levels will acquire great insights from Bonnie’s book. I was personally interested in learning how the co-CEOs of Shaw and Partners financial services, who were the primary sponsors for Bonnie’s circumnavigation, led her to transform her mission into a charitable cause for the Australian-based Gotcha4Life, a charity that seeks to prevent suicide, especially in response to the psychological devastation resulting from the effects of the pandemic. In essence, Bonnie did not view the pandemic as an obstacle or an inconvenience that did in fact threaten to halt her circumnavigation by the time she reached Western Australia then in the midst of a lockdown, but rather as an opportunity for her to make her personal quest one about serving those in need of “mental fitness” (36). Further, Bonnie chronologizes virtually all her athletic and safety needs, including her physical preparation, her daily post-recovery treatments and nutrition; her management of acute bouts of seasickness and other ailments; and her apparel and safety equipment, which evolved according to the part of the harsh Australian coastline she was paddling.

The Girl Who Touched the Stars should indeed be considered a travelogue enticing readers to experience the beauty of Australia. As readers follow Bonnie on her paddle through massive swells and windless flats, extremes in hot and cold climates, and tidal ranges that could slow Bonne’s pace to 2kph or assist her acceleration to 18kph, they gain a sense that the natural vicissitudes of the circumnavigation are symbolic of her defeats and triumphs. Despite brutally long hours of paddling in the toughest conditions, Bonnie incredibly found the time and energy to appreciate the water and land with an impromptu itinerary that included natural wonders like the 12 Apostles (limestone stacks); an exploration of caves on Wedge Island; a helicopter ride over Zuytrop Cliffs; a tour of the Murujuga National Park, home of the greatest number of ancient rock engravings in the world; and Pilbara, where white sand, red soil, and blue ocean meet the sky, and, where a phenomenon known as the “staircase to the moon” occurs during which a full moon illuminates uncovered flats in the night sky.

More significantly than being a tourist reader’s guide or even a unique autobiography, The Girl Who Touched the Stars is a complex adventure tale interwoven with a cast of colorful characters who made Bonnie’s circumnavigation possible. Foremost in Bonnie’s life is her devoted husband Matthew Palmer, who served as her manager of public relations, logistics, and funding and whose many sacrifices from the beginning to the end taught Bonnie the meaning of unconditional love. Besides her husband and his contacts, Bonnie experienced multiple times the fortune of meeting the right people at the right time, strangers turned steadfast friends overnight, acquaintances who found such instant and total belief in Bonnie’s mission that they risked their own lives to serve as her coaches, mentors, physical therapists, support crews and lifesavers on different legs of the circumnavigation. Among the luckiest and most selfless friendships Bonnie established was with a couple named Josh and Tina who agreed when no one else would to lead Bonnie across the 1,000-km Gulf of Carpentaria, an infamous death-trap of wind and waves to the most experienced sailors. Despite agonizing seasickness and migraines, Josh and Tina even agreed to separate from each other so that Tina could recover on land while Josh gave Bonnie a second (and fortunately, last) chance to cross the gulf with success.

Finally, the most obvious reason to read Bonnie’s story is for its message of inspiration based on one female athlete’s courage to set a new world record in ocean paddling. Readers will marvel at Bonnie’s resilience in the face of challenge and countless brushes with death, from sickness and debilitating pain to encounters with natural predators. Yet what distinguishes The Girl Who Touched the Stars from other narratives evoking the clichéd never-give-up-dare-to-dream dénouement is also what distinguishes Bonnie herself from other record-setting athletes like Freya Hofmeister: her generous revelation of vulnerability that humanizes her for all who may aspire to be like her. Although Bonnie admits to being like other athletes who are “notoriously selfish,” (257) prioritizing their training and goals over the sacrifices made on their behalf by those who support them, her narrative uncovers a woman made humble by her fears, loneliness, isolation, and constant self-doubt. In contrast to Freya, who projected an appearance of immunity to pain and fear, a sort of Uber-frau in love with danger, as she demonstrated when bragging about paddling topless in some of the most harrowing conditions, Bonnie elaborates on moments when she felt the least feminine and the most humiliated in her mission, her body making her feel like an old woman, often sunburnt, covered in rash, crippled in pain, and starving. While everyone is well-acquainted both with thrill-seekers whose spirit thrives on a connection between Eros and Thanatos and athletes in any sport, whether celebrities or amateurs, whose narcissism manifests itself as an insatiable need for approval of, and validation for, feats of superhuman strength however true or grandiose, Bonnie reminds us of the hidden humanness behind adrenaline-motivated athletes. She shares with us her most intimate moments of physical and psychological weakness during her circumnavigation of Australia, despite that she felt a loss of privacy due to her social media coverage and to the small living space she shared with her skipper and crew. With humility and grace, Bonnie felt that she could touch the stars after all that she had forced herself to endure. But she will inevitably touch her readers, most especially girls and women in sports for whom she will be one of the greatest role models of all time.

To learn more about Bonnie Hancock, and to purchase tickets to the newly released documentary, The Diamond of the Sea, based on her book, visit her website.