Leap In
Page 20
Diana Nyad, Find a Way: One Untamed and Courageous Life (Macmillan, 2016)
It reads like a thriller, but it’s all true. Nyad was a world-class swimmer in her twenties, broke the open-ocean world record for both men and women on her thirtieth birthday – and then didn’t swim for thirty years. As she hit her sixties, she decided to take on the one challenge that had always eluded her: swimming from Cuba to Florida, without a shark cage. During the 2016 US presidential campaign, Hillary Clinton cited the book as an inspiration, saying, ‘When you’re facing big challenges in your life, you can think about Diana Nyad getting attacked by the lethal sting of box jellyfishes, and nearly anything else seems doable in comparison.’ She’s not wrong.
Leanne Shapton, Swimming Studies (Particular Books, 2012)
Shapton’s memoir (and art project!) has the same central premise as Leap In – learning how to like your body when you’re expecting the unfamiliar from it – but from entirely the opposite direction. She was a competitive swimmer as a teenager, nearly making the Olympic team, and then found herself having to relearn how to enjoy swimming without goals as an adult. A combination of her exquisite paintings, photographs of her favourite swimsuits and recollections of important swims, it is a truly beautiful work on swimming.
Lynn Sherr, Swim: Why We Love the Water (Public Affairs, 2012)
A potted history and a charming memoir, Sherr’s book is sunny-natured and accessible, particularly as it approaches swimming from the perspective of someone who came to the sport late in life. It also has some wonderful illustrations and photographs for the truly nerdy among us.
Charles Sprawson, Haunts of the Black Masseur (Vintage, 2000)
A beautiful combination of memoir, history and watery flights of fancy, Sprawson’s classic is mesmerising on the bewitching nature of swimming, though it paints an almost exclusively male picture. It’s a gorgeous read, but perhaps more enjoyable if you are already a confident and enthusiastic swimmer.
Jeff Wiltse, Contested Waters: A Social History of Swimming Pools in America (University of North Carolina Press, 2010)
The most comprehensive look at the history of public swimming baths in the United States, and the effects of segregation on the nation and its relationship with swimming and pools.
Whatever your tastes, there is a swimming book out there for you to read at the water’s edge. But please, don’t forget to put it down from time to time, and enjoy the water.
Acknowledgements
This book was written at an unexpectedly sad time, and would never have been finished if not for the endless kindness, silliness and patience of a group of friends for whom I am eternally grateful. Carol Biss, Clare Bennett, Damian Barr, Eleanor Morgan, Euan MacDonald, Eva Wiseman, Georgie Palmer, Helen Chesshire, Jess & Jack Ruston, Jo Rivett, Jojo Moyes, Katie Fraser, Laurence Creamer, Lucy Moses, Melissa Weatherill, Mia Dabrowski, Polly Samson, and Rachel Roberts: thank you, you have no idea how much you helped.
Straddling the divide between friendship and business with extraordinary elegance and warm-heartedness were my editor Jocasta Hamilton and agent Sarah Ballard, whose generosity with both deadlines and solid gold advice most certainly didn’t go unnoticed.
Without Patrick, Julia and Kim at Pool to Pier there would be no book, as I would still be unable to swim. Truly, they achieved what seemed impossible, and I am forever in their debt. I have also been lucky enough to find both wisdom and solace in all sorts of fellow swimmers, and these in particular were a huge help during the writing of the book: the team at the Big Blue Swim, the Beyond Wednesdays gang, Celia Smith, Dan Bullock, Rob at the Pells Pool, Simon Murie at Swim Trek, and Vince, Helen and Tess, my Lake District guides!
I would also like to thank the staff at the Agora Clinic in Hove, particularly Mel and Victoria. I will never forget how much kindness you afforded me when I needed it most.
And D, always D.
ALSO BY ALEXANDRA HEMINSLEY
Running Like a Girl
‘If you’ve ever wept, “WHY WOULD I WANT TO RUN?” your answer is here.’
Caitlin Moran
Alexandra Heminsley had high hopes: the arse of an athlete, the waist of a supermodel, the speed of a gazelle. Defeated by gyms and bored of yoga, she decided to run.
Her first attempt did not end well.
Six years later, she has run five marathons in two continents.
But, as her dad says, you run with your head as much as with your legs. So, while this is a book about running, it’s not just about running.
You could say it’s about ambition (yes, getting out of bed on a rainy Sunday morning counts), relationships (including talking to the intimidating staff in the trainer shop), as well as your body (your boobs don’t have to wobble when you run). But it’s also about realising that you can do more than you ever thought possible.
Very funny, very honest and very emotional, whether you’re in serious training or thinking about running for the bus, this is a book for anyone who, after wine and crisps for supper a few too many times, thinks they might … just might … like to run like a girl.
‘Her honesty is winning … What’s truly excellent about this book, though, is its generosity. Heminsley wants to help other women to run and she has provided a practical section at the back, where she explains how to overcome injury, how to buy the right gear (particularly the correct bra), exactly what you will need if you build up to running marathons – surprisingly fascinating even if, like me, you have no plans to do so.’
Miranda Sawyer, Observer
‘The new memoir from Alexandra Heminsley is a meditation (slash romp) on running, life and love. Penned in her own inimitable style, the book is a funny tread through the raft of body insecurities and mental anguish we all go through when we put on our trainers.’
Grazia
This ebook is copyright material and must not be copied, reproduced, transferred, distributed, leased, licensed or publicly performed or used in any way except as specifically permitted in writing by the publishers, as allowed under the terms and conditions under which it was purchased or as strictly permitted by applicable copyright law. Any unauthorized distribution or use of this text may be a direct infringement of the author’s and publisher’s rights and those responsible may be liable in law accordingly.
Epub ISBN: 9781473536692
Version 1.0
Published by Hutchinson 2016
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Copyright © Alexandra Heminsley 2017
Cover Design © CSA Images / Getty Images
Alexandra Heminsley has asserted her right to be identified as the author of this Work in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.
First published in the UK by Hutchinson in 2017
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A CIP catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library
ISBN 9780091959593