The stunning, emotional literary debut from Sunday Times-bestselling author, journalist and broadcaster Alexandra Heminsley sees two half-sisters who have never met before battling to survive a year on a remote, dangerous but beautiful Norwegian island.
What happens when life doesn't go to plan? From the author of Running Like a Girl and Leap In comes a remarkable memoir about gender, body-image and the re-configuring of her own family 'Today I sat on a bench facing the sea, the one where I waited for L to be born, and sobbed my heart out. I don't know if I'll ever recover.' This note was written on 9 November 2017. As the seagulls squawked overhead and the sun dipped into the sea, Alexandra Heminsley's world was turning completely inside out. Alex's husband had decided to transition. The news had been delivered while their baby slept quietly in the next room. But this vertiginous moment represented only the latest in a series of events that had left Alex feeling more and more dissociated from her own body, turning her into a seemingly unreliable narrator of her own reality. Some Body to Love is Alex's profoundly open-hearted memoir about losing her husband but keeping a friend whilst bringing a baby into the world. Its exploration of what it means to have a human body, to feel connected or severed from it, and how we might learn to accept our own, makes it a vital, level-headed contribution to the incendiary debates on body-image and gender.
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 to Ithaca, Alexandra learned to appreciate her body and still her mind in becoming a swimmer. As it turns out, the water is never as frightening once you're in, and really, everything is better when you remember to exhale.
De onweerstaanbaar grappige geschiedenis van de mollige bankzitster die zich ontplooit tot gedreven marathonloopster - Druk 1
Gedesillusioneerd door het krachthonk en het geyoga beu besloot Alexandra Heminsley te gaan hardlopen. Ze koesterde hoge verwachtingen: de billen van een atlete, de taille van een supermodel en de snelheid van een gazelle. De eerste poging verliep niet bepaald goed. Zes jaar later heeft ze op twee continenten vijf marathons gelopen. Haar vader zei het al: je loopt evenzeer met je hoofd als met je benen. En daarom is dit een boek over hardlopen dat niet alleen maar over hardlopen gaat. Voor iedereen die (na iets te vaak wijn en chips op de late avond) denkt dat-ie… misschien… wel wil gaan hardlopen (like a girl).
An honest and achingly funny account of the horrors of being dumped, this memoir finds comedy in love's most painful moments. We've all experienced it: one moment you're in a loving relationship or on a promising date, and the next, you're facing rejection, choking back tears on your way home. Alexandra Heminsley has been dumped in various locations—restaurants, stairwells, and even graveyards—each instance bringing the same excruciating pain. In this intimate and witty narrative, she shares her journey from helpless dejection to rebound flings and failed relationships, ultimately leading her to recovery. Along the way, she offers insights on the effects of heartbreak on hormones and decodes the meaning behind phrases like "It's not you, it's me." She also humorously advises on hair choices post-breakup and highlights the healing power of music, warning against getting stuck in the Mary J. Blige Contemplative Stage or attempting the Eurythmics' "Thorn in My Side" too soon. Most importantly, Alexandra reveals that being dumped should not be a source of shame but rather a badge of honor, as taking risks in love is essential for finding true connection.