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

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Every other breath we take comes from the ocean, so it's important that we look after it! Susanne Masters has great tips for how. This week's guest is plant scientist, ethnobotanist and the author of Wild Waters. We spoke about sustainable harvesting, swimming with seals and the Bosphorus Cross-Continental Swim. Giuseppe Dell'Anno - I feel guilty my children don't have that connection — Rory Bremner, Sue Kent, Giuseppe Dell'Anno, Simon Farnaby 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.” 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 – In spite of this situation, we are going to look at inventive ways to look at serving our readership with digital content and of course in print too!

Russell Watson - "He's not what he used to be" — Sir Ranulph Fiennes, Russell Watson, Philippa Gregory, Rev Kate Bottley Not one for lying in bed reading, Gardener's World gardener Rekha Mistry reveals what it takes to make great marmalade. 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. Owusu-Sekyere said: “I am delighted to be publishing Freya’s stunning debut book next spring. Her story is both moving and inspiring, so it is a real pleasure working with Freya to bring this deeply tender book into the world."

Broadcast

When was the last time you stopped to notice the plants around you while you swam? This week's guest is Leif Bersweden, botanist and author of Where the Wildflowers Grow. We spoke about aquatic plants, where to find them and how to care for them. 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.” Grief in the Wild: Finding Refuge in Nature for Good Grief Festival on 28th October - Register here > Online Recordings

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. Writing a memoir implied a large degree of vulnerability for Bromley, who “worried a lot when I was writing it that I came across like a really moany bitch. [...] But now, I wish I’d had the confidence to go further with some of the ugly thoughts and feelings I had. Why do we [women] have to be likeable?” For Bromley then, being a writer and being successful are tied to externalising feelings that she describes are “tangled.” Though she still struggles with validation, confessing it to be “addictive”, her understanding of what it means to “do well” and more importantly, what doing well means to her, is shifting. 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.” Swimming also gave me community and connected me with one very special friend, Miri. We began taking weekend swimming trips out of London and I became obsessed with tidal pools. I decided that, with her by my side, I would swim all of Britain’s tidal pools in one year. My book The Tidal Year is about our adventure. They’ll just start with describing somebody they’ve lost in their life. Often you meet people, it’s like, Hi, how are you? What’s your name? What’s your job? and that kind of bullshit on the surface. The book has been a way to totally cut through to what really resonates with people, and that has been an amazing gift.”

Philippa Gregory - Shout out to the aunties — Sir Ranulph Fiennes, Russell Watson, Philippa Gregory, Rev Kate Bottley Sir Ranulph Fiennes - I'm the only person to walk round the world — Sir Ranulph Fiennes, Russell Watson, Philippa Gregory, Rev Kate Bottley Creative writing workshop at Leeds International Festival with Projecting Grief on 20th August - Sign up here >