Adventures in a (mainly) Wonderful World

April into May - My Adventure Trilogy: out now in paperback | Join me on my new 'Adventure Day' | plus all the news of my other adventures in May

Dear Fabulous Friends | Aspiring Adventurers

Welcome to my monthly free newsletter ‘Adventures in a (mainly) Wonderful World’. Prayer flags at the ready - here we go:

Announcing the New Paperback Publication of my Adventure Trilogy

This May my three books – The Pursuit of Motherhood, 21 Miles and Save Me From The Waves – will all be published as ‘new look’ paperbacks! You can, of course, read each one in isolation but personally I will forever think of them as my ‘Adventure Trilogy’ – my manifesto for living Big & Brave and for turning ‘Your Shit into Your Superpower’. Go on - get the set. They’re available through the links above and from all good booksellers.

To coincide with the paperback launch – and in response to multiple requests - I have also put together a full playlist for Save Me From The Waves – so you can listen as you read along. Find it on Spotify or Apple Music (links on the homepage of my website or just search ‘Save Me From The Waves Playlist’).

There are 68 songs in total (although I could have included more because there are 300 artist/tracks listed in my epic endnotes). But I’ve chosen all the tracks that book-end each of the eight sections of the book – Songs of Childhood; Songs of Home; Love Songs; Sad Songs; Happy Songs; Songs for a Wonderful World; Songs of Faith & Survival, and last but no means least, Songs To Die To). Have you written your own versions of these song lists yet? If not, I hope that reading my book will inspire you.

I actually didn’t realise that there were going to be 68 tracks before I started doing it and it feels very apt given that the book is my story of going from 68 Parliament Hill in London to the top of the world. It also feels significant that I’m writing and sending this to you today on the day of the London Marathon which is how Save Me From The Waves starts (ie. me doing it). Moreover, the trilogy is coming out in May which is Chomolungma / Everest climbing season. On 14^th May it will be my third Summitversary. A day that statistics show is currently shared by 214 people (and that’s in total btw not just the year that I summited), and I am currently one of only 14 people to have ever done the pond to peak - that’s swim the English Channel and climb Everest, and still the first and only woman to have run the London Marathon as well. Not that records really matter. They mean everything and nothing. But it still amazes me that this unlikely athlete has managed it.

If you’re an Everest junkie and want to follow news of what’s happening on the mountain this year then I highly recommend Alan Arnette’s blog - he’s an absolute authority and knows all the news before anyone else. And if you haven’t read Save Me From The Waves yet – now could be the perfect time – but please remember I am not your average adventurer. It’s a story about music as much as it is about mountains. I also like to claim that I am the first person to listen to every episode of my favourite radio programme - Desert Island Discs - which fuelled my training. And even though I have my own ‘Touching the Void’ experience on the mountain, it’s not all about that as some other adventure writers might have made it. This was ultimately a journey of joy for me, and these days I feel that more than ever.

Join me for my new ‘Adventure Day’ - on Hampstead Heath - Saturday 24^th May

These days I like my adventures a little lower and slower, and this May I will be leading my first every micro Adventure Day on London’s Hampstead Heath for members of my Big & Brave Substack Family. Read on if you think you’d like to join us. I’ve been thinking about this idea for a while and finally it’s coming to fruition and if it works may become an annual thing. We’ll be walking the full breadth of the heath exploring all my favourite places many of which featured in Save Me From The Waves. From Boudicca’s grave to the hollow tree; from the stone-of-free-speech to the wallabies. We’ll also be swimming - taking a double dip maybe even a triple one for those who are brave enough. And we will, of course, be stopping for cakes and ale! So if you’ve always wanted to swim in the Hampstead ponds but don’t know the protocol. Or you’ve never climbed to the highest point of (inner) London (which isn’t Parliament Hill by the way – it’s the flagstaff at Whitestone Pond). And if you’ve never seen Kenwood House or the Hampstead Heath Pergola - which is a magical place and one of the heath’s best kept secrets - then all you need to do is join my Big & Brave Family and pen the date in your diary. Here’s a 75% offer (£12.50 a year / £1.25 a month) available for the next 48 hours. Sign up and you’ll receive all the details plus you’ll also get exclusive invites to my monthly online ‘Shit Into Superpower (SIS) Sessions’ (the next one is THIS COMING TUESDAY 29th April); weekly inbox inspiration; and a chance to meet for coffee and a chat online/in person.

And finally other adventures in May…

The Fertility Show – 17 & 18 May

These days I’m doing less appearances in the fertility world even though my pursuit of motherhood will always be central to my life and work. There are now so many brilliant patient advocates around and I’ve been happy to pass the baton on. However, there is one fertility event I will always do whenever I can which is the annual Fertility Show at London’s Olympia – the largest live patient event in the UK and one of the best places you can get in-person advice and support from the world’s leading fertility experts. This year, I’ll be there on Sunday 18^th May – for an event with the Show’s Director Laura Biggs. We’ll be talking about the emotional side of IVF and how you can cope best with its ups and downs. Over the years Laura (who went on a big & brave fertility journey herself) has become a dear friend but I think this could be the first time she’s ever interviewed me live. I’m really looking forward to it, as well as seeing all the members of my ‘Fertility Family’ who I know will be out in force for the Show. If you’re reading this and you’re on the fertility rollercoaster yourself, then I highly recommend coming, and if you do attend - find me to say hello and have a hug. Here’s a special discount offer on tickets:

📢 Save 25% on tickets! Use code SP25 at checkout.

🎟 Find out more and book at fertilityshow.co.uk

Love Her Wild Weekend - 30 May - 1 June

I may be doing less in the fertility world, but these days I’m doing more and more in the adventure world (which would never happened without my first adventure through IVF). At the end of May I’ll be adventuring north to Lancashire for the ‘Love Her Wild Weekend’ which is being curated by the wonderful Nicola Bennett. I met Nicola for the first time last year at the annual AdventureMind Conference (which I am an ambassador for). We clicked immediately so when she wrote to me to ask me if I would get involved it was an immediate ‘Yes’. I’m giving a talk, leading a writing workshop and a ‘Shit into Superpower Workshop’ too. There’s so much great stuff happening as part of the weekend and it’s very nearly sold out already - check out all the details here: https://www.loveherwild.com/adventures/

So that’s it for April into May – bar one more wonderful thing – I’m heading to Formentera in Spain next week to lead my first week-long Adventure Retreat in association with SwimQuest holidays. This is the culmination of a long-held dream for me and I truly can’t wait. And if you’re interested in coming on the next one at the end of the year, we still have a few spaces left for our three day Retreat in Scotland in December, and we will soon be launching Formentera dates for next May 2026 so why not start planning now? It’s something special. That’s all I need to say. Word is spreading…

PS. If you’ve read to here - thank you! - and if you have another moment then make me smile by giving this post a squeeze of the heart, or leave me a wee comment. It’s always nice to know you’re there and care, and helps other people find the power of adventure.