The Tidal Year: a memoir on grief, swimming and sisterhood AS HEARD ON RADIO 4

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The Tidal Year is a true story about the healing power of wild swimming and the space it creates for reflection, rewilding, and hope. An exploration of grief in the modern age, it’s also a tale of loss, love, female rage and sisterhood. By the time we finally knew what was happening, Tom’s Ewing's Sarcoma was everywhere. My family had both a long time to say goodbye and never enough time to face the reality of someone we loved – and someone so young – being ill. Even now, it doesn’t feel real. I remember people saying, 'I just can’t believe it'. Yet really it is the most believable thing of all. We know death happens every day, we just try to avoid paying attention. Dying is the most predictable thing anyone can do. Just not when they leave behind me or leave behind you. Tom died in November 2016. All have communities that meet regularly for swims and fundraise to keep them swimmable. I spoke to a woman at Clevedon Marine Lake in Bristol who said that swimming there saved her life. You might think that sounds hyperbolic, but after travelling around mainland Britain to swim in these places, I learned that it was a common theme. People are swimming to answer a question inside them. 'Why do I feel like this? When will I feel better? Can I keep going?' Perhaps this is the lesson that many women of my generation need to learn. We’re sold the idea that we can Marie Kondo our lives into happiness. We’re told Good Vibes Only, Think Yourself Healthy, Manifest Money and Set Boundaries, Find Peace. I thought I could do the same with grief.

Freya’s first book The Tidal Year is published by Coronet. She’s appeared on BBC Radio 4’s Saturday Live, spoken at bookshops and festivals around the UK and led workshops at Cambridge University. The Tidal Year is a podcast about the joy of swimming. Writer and wild swimmer Freya Bromley discovers the human stories behind why we swim. Every week, she’s joined by a new guest who shares what water means to them. Not one for lying in bed reading, Gardener's World gardener Rekha Mistry reveals what it takes to make great marmalade. Bromley, who is currently studying on the Creative Writing Master of Studies course at Cambridge University, commented: “I’m thrilled that The Tidal Year has found a home with the talented team at Coronet. I didn’t expect my first book to be a memoir and I certainly didn’t think I’d be writing about something as personal as my brother’s death.

When we hung up, I got the train home from university and spent the journey trying to tell myself it would be ok. People get better from cancer all the time! They get better and they run half-marathons for charity when it becomes a story from their past. Then I got home and realised from everyone’s facial expressions that it was not that kind of cancer. Coronet has signed The Tidal Year, “a story about the healing power of wild swimming and the space it creates for reflection, rewilding, and hope” by wild swimmer and podcast host Freya Bromley. My book The Tidal Year is out today! As a special thank you to my podcast listeners, I've included a free preview of the prologue and chapter one from the audiobook read by me. Here's more about the book: It's hard to capture the joy of swimming in words, let alone art, but Lizzy Stewart somehow manages it. This week's guest is the wonderful illustrator and author of the graphic novel Alison. We spoke about painting pools, Devon's beaches and the connection between creativity and water. Sir Ranulph Fiennes - I'm the only person to walk round the world — Sir Ranulph Fiennes, Russell Watson, Philippa Gregory, Rev Kate Bottley

How nature helped me reconnect with myself after my parents died Pilates teacher Abby McLachlan, 48, shares how spending time in nature eased the Freya Bromley is currently touring her debut memoir, The Tidal Year, which was published this May. We spoke through a screen during our interview, but that feeling of knowing the people she meets through her book remained. Are you searching for a podcast that brings together nature and storytelling? The Tidal Year is a series about the joy of swimming! Meet Freya Bromley, a writer and wild swimmer who’s interested in the human stories behind why we swim. Each week, she’ll be joined by a guest who shares what water means to them.The Tidal Year is a true story about the healing power of wild swimming and the space it creates for reflection, rewilding, and hope. An exploration of grief in the modern age, it's also a tale of loss, love, female rage and sisterhood. For Bromley, the goalposts for success are constantly moving. “There was a time where the thought of having an agent was the best thing in the world. And as soon as I got an agent, I was like, I’ll be so happy when I get a book deal. Now I’ve had a book deal, I move on to the next thing.” Identity has been something that Bromley has realised is internal, and not earned. “I didn’t feel like I would have a right to call myself a writer if I didn’t have the book, whereas now I know that I’m a writer, inside me.” Giuseppe Dell'Anno - I feel guilty my children don't have that connection — Rory Bremner, Sue Kent, Giuseppe Dell'Anno, Simon Farnaby After Tom’s death, I focused on always having a million things on my mind to avoid thinking about his absence. Most of my distractions involved drinking, dancing and dating the wrong people. So, for New Year’s Eve 2019, when I was 22, I was planning on indulging in my triad of vices.

Bromley first made waves with her swimming themed podcast of the same name, which caught the attention of a literary agent. “I feel like a lot of us expect that it’s over before it’s even started”, she expresses, in relation to her early success. Though Bromley managed to publish The Tidal Year through traditional means, she also urges for “a revolution in sharing people’s stories, regardless of who’s publishing them. I think that’s what’s happening with Unbound, which is like crowdfunding for books.” The Tidal Year is a story about the healing power of wild swimming and the space it creates for reflection, rewilding, and hope. An exploration of grief in the modern age, it’s also a tale of female rage, sisterhood loss and love in the modern age.” Her experience was not without frustrations, but Cambridge allowed Bromley to solidify her identity and confidence through learning and community. “We all had this shared intention of wanting to […] turn something that felt like a secret inside us into being a huge part of our identity. That was really powerful to be around. It was almost like we were co-signing each other’s dreams.” The mini reset that helps me recover from my fast-paced life Livvy Probert, founder of Hawq, makes time for a seaside trip every few months – Russell Watson - "He's not what he used to be" — Sir Ranulph Fiennes, Russell Watson, Philippa Gregory, Rev Kate BottleyAs Freya travels further from London, she finds herself closer to memories of her brother. With every swim, and every stranger they meet in the water, the challenge becomes more than just a way to explore the coast, but a journey of self-discovery.