I really enjoyed Part 1, which is about leaping into life, whatever that means for you. For her it was about learning to swim, undertaking outdoor swimming challenges everywhere from her hometown of Brighton to Ithaca, Greece, but also getting married and undergoing IVF. I especially appreciated her words on acquiring a new skill as an adult and overcoming your body issues. This is a wonderful little memoir. But it seemed like her publishers said, “Meh, that’s too short; add in some more stuff!” and Part 2 feels boring and irrelevant: it gives the history of swimming, talks about what gear you should buy, answers FAQs, etc. It’s a shame that she was talked into making this a how-to book. I guess she can’t escape what she’s known for: sporting self-help.

I enjoyed this book but really did not like the cover.

I really do love Alexandra Heminsley. I read her last book (Running Like a Girl) a few months ago and found it so completely inspirational that I started jogging a couple of times a week. Unfortunately, my enthusiasm for running faded pretty quickly (injury plus having an already dodgy leg) but the book was great and I think it really improved my technique. So, I was expecting great things from Leap In – the story of Heminsley’s journey from could-manage-a-few-laps-of-breaststroke to hard-core sea swimmer. I thought I would immediately be googling wetsuits and finding out where my nearest pool was. I thought I would be filled with confidence at the thought of wearing a swimming costume. I thought I would basically become a part time mermaid. Unfortunately, none of these things happened – which I suppose is good for my bank balance (and legs) but not so much my BMI. It’s a good book, but it just didn’t grab me in the same way that Running Like a Girl did.

Perhaps it’s the slightly less accessible subject matter. Anyone can shove a pair of trainers on and go for a run, but going swimming is a much more considered act. There’s the swimming costume, the hair removal, the finding out when the pool is open…you can’t just put this book down, grab a towel and head off to the baths. Added to this is the fact that Heminsley is not a natural water baby. She gets claustrophobic in a wetsuit. She’s scared of standing in mud. She doesn’t understand goggles. I just didn’t feel that she utterly, thoroughly loved swimming in the same way that she loved running – and as someone who would happily become semi-aquatic I just didn’t engage with these minor concerns.

Luckily, Leap In is brilliantly written. It’s told in Heminsley’s usual hilarious manner and includes some excellent descriptions of what it’s like to wear sportswear when you don’t have a “sporty” physique (not that there is such a thing – what I’m trying to say is – when you have boobs and a bum). Her description of the first time she had to wear a wetsuit is knicker-wettingly funny and the phrases “arse-shelf” and “arse cleavage” will stay with me for a long time. Mixed in with the humour are some very candid passages about being scared to walk out in a swimming costume, being intimidated by men training for triathlons and being paranoid about what is lurking beneath the waves. Heminsley is unfailingly, bravely honest about her own insecurities and foibles which make the story much more interesting and human.

There’s a lot of technical information about such things as techniques for front crawl (seemingly the best stroke for long distance/open water swimming) as well as Heminsley’s own experiences with a range of kit. This might sound a bit dull but she weaves it into her personal narrative so well that it’s easy to get sucked in. At one point I actually found myself acting out front crawl arms as I was reading and quickly had to stop myself from looking like a lunatic. Luckily I was on my own at the time – thank God I wasn’t on public transport!

As a novel, Leap In Is split into two parts – the first being Hemingsley’s own story about learning to swim and the second regarding advice and support for everything from finding out about adult swimming lessons to kit, events and practical advice on everyday swimming issues. This section is really comprehensive and provides a plethora of information. Even if you have no interest in going swimming it’s written in a jovial, friendly tone and is still worth a read (how else will you find out how to conceal a spare tampon if you’re only wearing a wetsuit?)

Leap In really is a snapshot of Heminsley’s life during the time that she learns to swim. She includes some very personal passages about her struggles to conceive, her attempts at IVF and the impact that this has on her body. Far from being just a book about swimming, this is a really touching and intimate portrayal of life as a 30 something woman who just happens to have taken up a new sport. Not as inspirational as Running Like a Girl, but still a great book to read. And if you take it on holiday, who knows – maybe you will just grab a towel and head for the pool.

Really lovely, made me desperate to jump in a pool and just swim! (No way am I brave enough to go in the cold North Sea.) Strangely hypnotic, and caught the magic of water and swimming with a caress and bubble.

On the morning of her wedding to David, Heminsley spontaneously decided to leap into the sea for a swim despite having lived in Brighton for years and, up to that morning, having never entered the sea there before. That first swim was a revelation and it left her with a “visceral urge to seize everything life was throwing at me and live more intensely than I ever had”.

This soon turned to fear and dislike as her husbands new wedding ring was lost to a briny surge and then their flat was flooded. An understandable response would be to turn one's back on the English Channel but Hemingsley is made of sterner stuff. She enrolled on an open water swimming course and this book is the result: a story of bloody-mindedness and dogged perseverance which also saw her cope with infertility treatment and the loss of a much-wanted pregnancy.

Heminsley's story builds to an epic climax: an attempted five-kilometre swim between the Greek islands of Kefalonia and Ithaca as she battles against the limitations of body and psyche. She's been there before though because her last book, Run Like A Girl saw her go from non-runner to marathon competitor and the story arc of Leap In is not unfamiliar. However, set against her moving account of trying to become pregnant and the aftermath of when she lost her baby which left her feeling that "my body had been rejected, and in turn I rejected my body”, her writing transcends its subjects to allow us to find our own truth in her experiences.

I have mixed feelings about this book. My favourite part of the book was the first part where Heminsley describes some of the swimming challenges that she takes part in. The most interesting one I felt was when she heads to Greece. Once she goes into the description of swimming strokes and equipment, I didn't find this as interesting. Perhaps for this reason it is more geared towards people who wish to swim great distances. I liked the first part where she challenges herself and succeeds in the challenges she sets herself.

I was given a free copy of this book by Net Galley in exchange for an honest review.
The first half of this book is a memoir of one woman’s journey from novice to experienced outdoor swimmer. The second half is a history of swimming and guidance on how to become a good swimmer (tips on strokes, where to find information and what kit you need). It is almost impossible to read Leap In without subsequently ending up researching outdoor swimming groups as the author’s enthusiasm is contagious. To her swimming, although involving huge amounts of effort and commitment to really improve her skill level, is exhilarating, stress relieving, beneficial both physically and psychologically, not to mention being a wonderful challenge. Her descriptions of her struggles to breathe properly, the panic you can feel when not properly prepared and the shock to the system of swimming in cold water bring chills to the reader. Learning of the community of swimmers she has become a part of one cannot help but yearn to join in. This is a book that does not exclude the reader – almost anyone can take up swimming. Swimming is a refuge from difficult experiences in the author’s private life. It is a thoroughly inspiring book with a likeable narrator unafraid to share her personal life – primarily her struggles with IVF. This makes it a compelling read.
The brief history of swimming in the second half is an interesting look at how approaches, attitudes and techniques to swimming have changed over the centuries. The practical guidance is very useful if you find yourself, like me, compelled to Leap In once you’ve finished the book. This is well worth a read for anybody who appreciates a tale of perseverance against the elements.