Leap In: A Woman, Some Waves and the Will to Swim by Alexandra Heminsley

Reviewed by Penny Deacon

You’ve broken your New Year’s resolutions. You’re curled on the sofa with that second glass of wine (Dry January? What’s that?). You’ve refused to stand on the bathroom scales. You’re just beginning to think you should pull yourself together. It’s time to read Leap In.

Alexander Heminsley thought she could swim. She really did. But, as she learned one day while flailing around in the sea, she really couldn’t.

The first, larger, part of this insightful book is the story of how Alexandra overcame her fear of sea swimming, and grew to love it. If, like me, you’re a swimmer you will wince with sympathy at the author’s first experience of getting into a wetsuit.

It is also the story of a woman learning to know herself and, behind the swimming failures and triumphs, is the tender story of her personal life with her husband, D. It’s never intrusive but it gives weight and individuality to an experience that many of us have been through.

The second part of the book is practical. It answers the questions you feel too foolish to ask about the practicalities of swimming. ‘Everyone knows that’, you assume. No, they don’t. Whether you’re a swimmer, or simply want to be, this is all useful, practical information.

This is a candid and empowering book. I recommend it.

Leap In                                     Alexandra Heminsley                      Pub. Hutchinson                £12.99