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Reading lists

8 books to help you survive and thrive

A Woman, Some Waves, and the Will to Swim

Leap In

I wanted to dive into water as I want to dive into life: filled with joy, curiosity and the knowledge that there may be dangers – but that they’re not daunting enough to make it not worth doing. 
 
All I needed to do was learn to swim.

A joy to read . . . another triumph for Heminsley, a champion of sport in the truest sense, and a wonderfully compassionate voice.

This is a book that turns out to be about everything in life that cannot be calculated. Heminsley responds to life’s uncertainty by becoming decisive: “The grit was in the oyster now. It was the sea versus me…” It sets a remarkable example, and by the end it could not be more obvious: the true grit is not in the oyster but in Heminsley herself.

Alex Heminsley has the rare gift of being able to take a sport - running or swimming - that most of us find a bit daunting and fill the reader with enthusiasm for it. She comes to sport from the position of the ordinary person - and yet shows that it can change your life in an extraordinary way.

Inspirational and thought-provoking, Leap In is the perfect accompaniment to your New Years Resolutions.

A great entry point to the sport, it’s also a searingly honest personal story as she finds solace in the water when faced with tricky times.

The ‘woman-versus-sea’ narrative makes the book a page-turner. Heminsley tackles head-on the uncomfortable truth that it’s hard for an adult to get rid of the fears of decades.

Leap In celebrates the glory of swimming.

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

An honest moving account of marriage, personal loss and living life to the full.

Plaudits will arrive faster than an incoming tide.

In her memoir Leap In, Alexandra Heminsley gives an eloquent exposition of the painful, powerful but ultimately exhilarating effects of wild swimming throughout the winter.

'Remarkable' Observer 
'A joy to read' Daily Telegraph 
'Soaringly beautiful' Sunday Times Magazine 
'Genuine and persuasive' Guardian 
 
Alexandra Heminsley thought she could swim. She really did. 
 
It may have been because she could run. It may have been because she wanted to swim; or perhaps because she only ever did ten minutes of breaststroke at a time. But, as she learned one day while flailing around in the sea, she really couldn’t. 
 
Believing that a life lived fully isn’t one with the most money earned, the most stuff bought or the most races won, but one with the most experiences, experienced the most fully, she decided to conquer her fear of the water. 
 
From the ignominy of getting into a wetsuit to the triumph of swimming from Kefalonia to Ithaca, in becoming a swimmer, Alexandra learns to appreciate her body and still her mind. As it turns out, the water is never as frightening once you're in, and really, everything is better when you remember to exhale. 
 
 
What Hemmo's readers are saying: 
 
‘This book is funny, engaging, entertaining, informative, suspenseful, motivating, and inspiring... I've never read anything quite like it’ 
 ­– Nina on Goodreads, 5 stars 
 
 ‘Just like Running Like a Girl, this was an absolute joy to read. A beautifully written story of swimming, family and being a woman’ 
 – Violet on Amazon, 5 stars 
 
‘Fantastic book… Entertaining – often laugh-out-loud funny – and full of really useful advice’ 
 – J. Edwards on Amazon, 5 stars 
 
‘A fabulous book that’s beautifully written’ 
 – Nik on Goodreads, 5 stars 
 
‘I can't recommend this book enough! I absolutely love Alexandra Heminsley's writing, her attitude towards exercise and her passion for swimming’ 
 – Sarah on Goodreads, 5 stars 
 
‘an inspirational and encouraging read’ 
 – Stephanie on Goodreads, 5 stars 
 
‘the author’s enthusiasm is contagious… one cannot help but yearn to join in. … A thoroughly inspiring book with a likeable narrator unafraid to share her personal life’ 
 – Eleanor on Goodreads, 5 stars 
 
 ‘This is a delightful book, a pleasure to read… Unbelievably well written, it flows like the water she loves’ 
 ­– Bobby on Amazon, 5 stars

Running Like a Girl

Funny and honest, this is the story of how an ordinary, curvy woman ended up running five marathons.

If you've ever wept "Why do I want to run?", your answer is here.

Caitlin Moran, author of HOW TO BE A WOMAN

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.

Candid, funny and inspiring, this is part personal journey, part “how to” guide for female runners.

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.

This book is an emotional whirlwind split into two perfect halves. First is the story of Heminsley’s own running journey – from being certain that she wasn’t a runner at all, to completing five marathons . . . The second half offers the most practical advice on ‘how to run like a girl’, invaluable, as once you finish the book, even the most unenthusiastic of sportswomen will be longing to pull on the Lycra and run for the hills.

_____________________________ 
'If you've ever wept, "Why Do 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. 
_____________________________ 
Here's what people are saying about Running Like A Girl - and what it's inspired them to do! 
 
'This book has changed my attitude, I loved it from page one and found it totally relatable for the normal woman... A real inspiration' - Clairol on Amazon, 5 stars 
 
'I adored this book... this is a must read' - Emily on Amazon, 5 stars 
 
'really opened my eyes and inspired me to continue running, fantastic read' - Kiyone on Amazon, 5 stars 
 
'I was so happy to start reading this fabulous book and realise that there was someone else out there who thought exactly as I did about 'not being a runner'' - J. Watson on Amazon, 5 stars 
 
'It's not often I find a book that I can't put down and this is the first for ages! ... this book echoes so many of my own limiting beliefs constructed around this subject and it was a delight to hear how Alex faced up to her own demons and finally freed her running spirit. Even if you never want to be a runner this is a fun read and an inspirational journey.' - Joy on Amazon, 5 stars 
 
'Inspirational... Would recommend this book to anyone thinking of running! Very well put together and has lots of information and tips' - Maria on Amazon, 5 stars 
 
'I laughed out loud... for anyone wanting to get into running you will be thinking of Alexandra when you are out there taking your first few strides, and you will be grinning!' - J. Dunne on Amazon, 5 stars 
 
'The best thing about it is how inspiring the journey it is, how much it makes you want to get out there and run yourself. Such a fantastic aid to the beginning of your running journey' - Emma on Amazon, 5 stars 
 
'I have been fighting with my running demons for over 12 months and had convinced myself that I couldn't run. This book has inspired me to put my trainers on, join a club and enter three events' - Chimaera on Amazon, 5 stars 
 
'Laugh-out-loud funny in places but real, genuine experience of the world of running from someone who's been there, picked up the battered trainers and just run with it' - Helen on Amazon, 5 stars 
 
'hilarious - it just kept me hooked!' - Denise on Amazon, 5 stars

Alexandra Heminsley

A Family Story

'A treatise on empathy and grace in extraordinary circumstances' Jojo Moyes 
 
What does it mean to be a woman? To live in a woman's body? 
 
Alexandra Heminsley thought she knew, but then her world turned inside out. Having just resurfaced from fertility issues, childbirth and early parenthood, she was told her then-husband was going to transition. 
 
Some Body to Love is Alex's profoundly open-hearted memoir about losing a partner but gaining a best friend, and together bringing up a baby in a changing world. By baring her own unique scars, Heminsley makes a vital manifesto on the unifying resilience that can be found in modern motherhood. 
 
______________________ 
 
Praise for Some Body to Love: 
'Insightful and wise, generous and kind' David Nicholls 
'A brave, thoughtful and timely book' Naomi Alderman 
'A testament to how family and love can be whatever shape we want them to be' Red 
'It took my breath away' Bryony Gordon 
'A book with a wild, deep, joyous, tender love of people at its heart' Emma Jane Unsworth

Alexandra Heminsley

Some Body to Love

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