Alexandra Heminsley

Very funny, very honest and very emotional, whether you're in serious training or thinking about running for the bus, this book will make you want to put on your trainers. Alexandra Heminsley had high hopes: the arse of an athlete, the waist of a supermodel, the speed of a gazelle. Defeated by gyms and bored of yoga, she decided to run. Her first attempt did not end well. Six years later, she has run five marathons in two continents. But, as her dad says, you run with your head as much as with your legs. So, while this is a book about running, it's not just about running. You could say it's about ambition (yes, getting out of bed on a rainy Sunday morning counts), relationships (including talking to the intimidating staff in the trainer shop), as well as your body (your boobs don't have to wobble when you run). But it's also about realising that you can do more than you ever thought possible. Very funny, very honest and very emotional, whether you're in serious training or thinking about running for the bus, this is a book for anyone who after wine and crisps for supper a few too many times thinks they might . . . just might . . . like to run like a girl.

Running Like a Girl

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.

A Family Story

Some Body to Love

'Remarkable' Observer 'A joy to read' Daily Telegraph 'Soaringly beautiful' Sunday Times Magazine 'Genuine and persuasive' Guardian 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 from Kefalonia to Ithaca, in becoming a swimmer, Alexandra learns to appreciate her body and still her mind. As it turns out, the water is never as frightening once you're in, and really, everything is better when you remember to exhale. What Hemmo's readers are saying: ‘This book is funny, engaging, entertaining, informative, suspenseful, motivating, and inspiring... I've never read anything quite like it’ – Nina on Goodreads, 5 stars ‘Just like Running Like a Girl, this was an absolute joy to read. A beautifully written story of swimming, family and being a woman’ – Violet on Amazon, 5 stars ‘Fantastic book... Entertaining – often laugh-out-loud funny – and full of really useful advice’ – J. Edwards on Amazon, 5 stars ‘A fabulous book that’s beautifully written’ – Nik on Goodreads, 5 stars ‘I can't recommend this book enough! I absolutely love Alexandra Heminsley's writing, her attitude towards exercise and her passion for swimming’ – Sarah on Goodreads, 5 stars ‘an inspirational and encouraging read’ – Stephanie on Goodreads, 5 stars ‘the author’s enthusiasm is contagious... one cannot help but yearn to join in. ... A thoroughly inspiring book with a likeable narrator unafraid to share her personal life’ – Eleanor on Goodreads, 5 stars ‘This is a delightful book, a pleasure to read... Unbelievably well written, it flows like the water she loves’ – Bobby on Amazon, 5 stars

A Woman, Some Waves, and the Will to Swim

Leap In

"In her twenties, Alexandra Heminsley spent more time drinking white wine than she did in pursuit of athletic excellence. When she decided to take up running in her thirties, she had high hopes for a blissful runner's high and immediate physical transformation. After eating three slices of toast with honey and spending ninety minutes on iTunes creating the perfect playlist, she hit the streets--and failed miserably. The stories of her first runs turn the common notion that we are all "born to run" on its head--and exposes the truth about starting to run: it can be brutal. Running Like a Girl tells the story of getting beyond the brutal part, how Alexandra makes running a part of her life, and reaps the rewards: not just the obvious things, like weight loss, health, and glowing skin, but self-confidence and immeasurable daily pleasure, along with a new closeness to her father--a marathon runner--and her brother, with whom she ultimately runs her first marathon"--

notes on learning to run

Running like a girl

'Joyful, heartwarming and utterly charming.' JUDY MURRAY 'A sharp, joyous, soulful book. A love letter to the power of bringing people together. Alan Bennett but sexy and modern and female.' EMMA JANE UNSWORTH Three strangers. Ten miles. One life-changing day... Suzie is 69 and has been keeping a secret for most of her life. She'd do anything to have her beloved Colin with her today, of all days, but she's hoping that the long walk ahead will be a first chapter in a new life without him. Mike is 42 and is joining the queue out of a sense of duty. It's for his mum, who adored the Queen, but she can't be there. He's lived his whole life by the book, putting facts before feelings, trying to fit in but always sticking out. Perhaps he can change that today, by becoming part of history? Abbie is 19, desperately hungover and isn't sure how she ended up in the queue at all. Her 'big move' to London hasn't exactly gone to plan - surrounded by millions of people, she's never felt more lonely, and her dreams feel further away than ever. Yet today, she feels closer to her queue family than she does her real one. As the unlikely trio wind along the Thames, edging ever closer to Westminster and the Queen, it becomes clear that when they finally leave the queue their worlds will never be the same again...

The hotly-anticipated and delightfully heartwarming novel inspired by the queue for the Queen

The Queue

'If you've ever wept, "Why Do I Want To Run?" your answer is here.' Caitlin Moran Alexandra Heminsley had high hopes: the arse of an athlete, the waist of a supermodel, the speed of a gazelle. Defeated by gyms and bored of yoga, she decided to run. Her first attempt did not end well. Six years later, she has run five marathons in two continents. But, as her dad says, you run with your head as much as with your legs. So, while this is a book about running, it's not just about running. You could say it's about ambition (yes, getting out of bed on a rainy Sunday morning counts), relationships (including talking to the intimidating staff in the trainer shop), as well as your body (your boobs don't have to wobble when you run). But it's also about realising that you can do more than you ever thought possible. Very funny, very honest and very emotional, whether you're in serious training or thinking about running for the bus, this is a book for anyone who after wine and crisps for supper a few too many times thinks they might . . . just might . . . like to run like a girl.

An honest and achingly funny account of the horrors of being dumped that finds comedy in love's most painful moments.We've all been there: one minute you're in a loving relationship, or maybe just on your third date with a guy who's not too weird, the next minute you've been dumped. Now you're a reject, choking back the sobs as you trundle home alone. If Dumped was a kingdom, Alexandra Heminsley would be its queen. She's been dumped in a restaurant, dumped in a stairwell, dumped in a graveyard - the locations changed but the excruciating pain stayed the same. Now in this intimate and witty memoir she shares her experiences, taking us on a laugh-out-loud journey from her initial helpless dejection to the rebound fling and several other failed relationships that finally set her on the road to recovery. She shares the insights she gathered along the way, from what heartbreak really does to your hormones to what he really means when he says, 'It's not you, it's me', as well as what not to do with your hair when you've been dumped. And, of course, the best ways to utilise the healing power of songs - after all, no one wants to get stuck in the Mary J. Blige Contemplative Stage for too long but woe betide the girl who attempts the Eurythmics' 'Thorn in My Side' too soon. Above all, Alexandra reveals the important truth she learns: that being dumped should not be a source of shame but should be a badge of honour. Because unless you're ready to risk all, you'll never find love.

You're Nobody 'til Somebody Dumps You

Ex and the City

'Beautifully written, with such heart. Not only did it make me cry, it made me see the world in a different way' JOANNA CANNON Find escape with the beautiful, moving literary debut from Sunday Times-bestselling author Alexandra Heminsley, a stunning story of sisterhood and wilderness. Clara Seymour is trying to find her feet in London, living away from home for the first time. Brought up by her domineering mother, treasuring time any time with her adoring father, Clara's world is brought to a standstill when her dad abruptly dies. Then, a mystery comes to light in a letter from him. I am sure you are aware that before I met your mother I had a previous marriage. But what we never discussed is that we had a daughter. So begins a journey of discovery that takes Clara to remote Norway and a landscape as brutal as it is bewitching, a voyage fraught with personal and emotional danger to reveal who her father really was - and find the sister she's never met. 'A gorgeous, insightful tale about grief, loneliness and sisterhood' Good Housekeeping

A beautiful and moving tale of sisterhood and wilderness

Under the Same Stars

We've all been there: one minute you're in a loving relationship, or maybe just on your third date with a guy who's not too weird, the next minute you've been dumped. Now you're a reject, choking back the sobs as you trundle home alone. If Dumped was a kingdom, Alexandra Heminsley would be its queen. She's been dumped in a restaurant, dumped in a stairwell, dumped in a graveyard - the locations changed but the excruciating pain stayed the same. Now in this intimate and witty memoir she shares her experiences, taking us on a laugh-out-loud journey from her initial helpless dejection to the rebound fling and several other failed relationships that finally set her on the road to recovery. She shares the insights she gathered along the way, from what heartbreak really does to your hormones to what he really means when he says, 'It's not you, it's me', as well as what not to do with your hair when you've been dumped. And, of course, the best ways to utilise the healing power of songs - after all, no one wants to get stuck in the Mary J. Blige Contemplative Stage for too long but woe betide the girl who attempts the Eurythmics' 'Thorn in My Side' too soon. Above all, Alexandra reveals the important truth she learns: that being dumped should not be a source of shame but should be a badge of honour. Because unless you're ready to risk all, you'll never find love.

You're Nobody 'Til Somebody Dumps You

A sus veinte años, Alexandra Heminsley pasó más tiempo en el bar que en la búsqueda de la excelencia atlética. Cuando ella decidió correr a los treinta años, tenía grandes esperanzas de transformación física inmediata. las historias de sus primeras carrer

Correr en femenino / Running Like a Girl

'Remarkable' Observer 'A joy to read' Daily Telegraph 'Soaringly beautiful' Sunday Times Magazine 'Genuine and persuasive' Guardian 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 from Kefalonia to Ithaca, in becoming a swimmer, Alexandra learns to appreciate her body and still her mind. As it turns out, the water is never as frightening once you're in, and really, everything is better when you remember to exhale.

Alexandra Heminsley

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