Floating: A Life Regained

by Irrelevant

Overview

The thrillingly triumphant memoir of one man’s self discovery and mastery of anxiety through wild swimmingJournalist Joe Minihane became obsessed with wild swimming and its restorative qualities, and developed his new-found passion by following the example of naturalist Roger Deakin in his classicWaterlog. While putting one arm over the other, sometimes resting on his back, Minihane begins to confront the often buried issues in his life. Along the way, he rekindles old friendships and forges new ones, and after an unexpected setback discovers that he has already gained enough strength to be able to continue his recovery on dry land. The activity that he describes is both strange and beautiful, as the wild water puts him in touch with nature and himself.Floating is a remarkable memoir about, on the surface, a passion for swimming and nature. Moving from darkness into light, it is as intense and moving as it is lyrical and generous. It captures in memorable detail Minihane’s struggle to understand his life and move forward and, steeped in the anti-authoritarian and naturalistic spirit of Roger Deakin, celebrates the joy of taking time out to feel better.From Hampstead to Yorkshire, from Dorset to Jura, from the Isles of Scilly to Wales—with this book, Joe Minihane has written what is often a love letter to different wild stretches of water. We swim with him through ponds and lakes, rivers and canals, lodes and marshes, even the ice-cold sea. With him, we too finally come out of the water and dry ourselves off.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781468314922
Publisher:	The Overlook Press
Publication date:	06/20/2017
Pages:	272
Product dimensions:	5.30(w) x 8.10(h) x 1.10(d)

About the Author

Joe Minihane is a journalist and copywriter focusing on travel and adventure pieces. He has written extensively for a wide variety of outlets including Lonely Planet, CNN Travel, The Independent,
and World Travel Guide. Floating is his debut memoir.

Editorial Reviews

05/08/2017
In this thoughtful memoir, freelance journalist Minihane finds spiritual direction by following in the path of nature writer and environmentalist Roger Deakin and his 1996 book, Waterlog. In an effort to subdue his anxiety, Minihane taps into the healing power of waters by swimming in the sea and in rivers and streams throughout England. He observes that “you see and experience things when you’re swimming in a way that is completely different from any other.” Each of the book’s picturesque English locales make him more aware of the surroundings passing away with gentrification, the old making way for the new. Whereas Deakin’s book is a travelogue with a feel-good philosophy, Minihane’s saga of countless breaststrokes and front crawls becomes stagnant for him, until he is forced to seek professional help in a desperate effort to steady himself. He begins to tire of the swims, and his anxiety returns after each dip; but in time, that feeling subsides. Endlessly probing, Minihane’s lyrical chronicle of swimming therapy is his own attack on worry and self-loathing. (July)

Publishers Weekly

I love this book. It’s about swimming, and sometimes about not swimming—but there’s so much else. There’s nature, the changing landscape, politics, anxiety, challenge and friendship . . . warm, reflective and honest.

Jenny Landreth

Minihane writes with a compulsive honesty and clarity that draws you into its stream as beguiling as any river Deakin ever swam—a wonderful read. Highly recommended!

Kate Rew

Floating is a wonderful book: a love letter to wild swimming, a hate letter to anxiety and a story of how we can learn to live with ourselves, our overclocked minds, even after we climb out of the water.

Joe Dunthorne

Joe Minihane has written a lovely, lively, passionate account of his pilgrimage in the footsteps
(breast-strokes) of Roger Deakin, and about the power of literature to change lives. Generous,
innocent and memorable, it is a celebration of nature’s ability to inspire healing and joy.

Robert MacFarlane

Another convert to the magic and majesty of swimming! Joe Minihane's bold personal journey—as the compelling 'Now' of the water helps dilute his history of anxiety—will inspire everyone, even non-swimmers. Dive in. Change your life. Start here.

Lynn Sherr

“Joe Minihane has written a lovely, lively, passionate account of his pilgrimage in the footsteps (breast-strokes) of Roger Deakin, and about the power of literature to change lives. Generous, innocent and memorable, it is a celebration of nature’s ability to inspire healing and joy.” —Robert MacFarlane, author of Landmarks”

From the Publisher

[Floating] is many things: a quest narrative, an atmospheric travel book . . . and a record of psychic transformation.

Foreword Reviews

2017-05-01
In his debut memoir, a British journalist and copywriter tells the story of how outdoor swimming helped him cope with anxiety.Minihane had glamorous dreams of becoming a journalist and travel writer, but as he approached 30, he found himself churning out copy about "phones, game consoles and speakers" instead. Even worse, the anxiety that had trailed him since graduate school had become a permanent feature of his life that he hid from everyone, including his wife. Temporary relief came only through swimming, so he swam "to fix myself, to cure myself and to make myself a better person in my own eyes." In researching different places to partake of his "remedy," the author came across the work of naturalist Roger Deakin, who had undertaken a journey across the British countryside to indulge his passion for swimming wild. Inspired, Minihane decided he would honor the late naturalist by following in his wake. He began his quest at a London public facility that he disliked for the way it had been transformed into a "commodity" rather than something that served the "well-being of society." His first taste of the addictive headiness of a wild swim came with his experience in the River Granta. "Despite succumbing to extreme shivers," he writes, "I was on a soaring high." The inertia that had crippled him fell away as he eagerly anticipated each new adventure, which took him all over England and Scotland and helped him reconnect with old friends. When he accidentally broke his wrist and had to stop swimming, Minihane's adventure ground to a halt and his anxiety returned. He sought therapy, which eventually became "like the swims I had enjoyed." With expectations newly revised, the author resumed his watery journey, which had finally become his own. Detailed and searching, the book chronicles one man's search for inner peace while reaffirming the calming power of the natural world. A genuine and refreshing nature memoir.

Kirkus Reviews