Awards

• Long-listed for William Hill Sports Book Of The Year Award 2024 (UK)

Overview

'Poetic, candid and utterly compelling' - FREYA BROMLEY 'Absolutely remarkable' - LYNN BARBER 'Reads with the tension of a thriller, illuminating the world of elite sport, both the struggle and sacrifice' - CATHY RENTZENBRINK 'An embodied water odyssey' - LIDIA YUKNAVITCH This is not a story about making history. Rebecca Achieng Ajulu-Bushell was once a double British Champion and the first Black woman ever to swim for Great Britain. As her body and mind are sharpened through gruelling training, press scrutiny and the harshness of adolescence, Rebecca charts her career's ascent and her singular love of the water, before explaining why she walked away from it all. A compulsive and unforgettable study of intensity, These Heavy Black Bones meditates on Blackness, identity and the ecstasy of peak physical performance, and lays bare the pressures within the swimming world.

Full Product Details

9781805300441

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Reviews

Speaks about the intensity of training and the pressure of often being the only Black woman poolside * * Women's Health * *

'What a book! Rebecca is such an absorbing writer, These Heavy Black Bones reads with the tension of a thriller and I desperately wanted her to be okay. It both illuminates the world of elite sport, the struggle and sacrifice, but is also really broadly relatable - a tribute to the writing, of course. It was a feast in every way: for the intellect and the senses, so very visceral' - CATHY RENTZENBRINK 'Speaks about the intensity of training and the pressure of often being the only Black woman poolside' - Women's Health 'As a teenage swimmer, Ajulu-Bushell realized that being exceptional came with a cost. Struggling with the pressure she felt to succeed in a predominately white sport, she quit while training for the 2012 Olympics' - TIME '' - '' - '' -

Author Information

Rebecca Achieng Ajulu-Bushell is an ex-elite athlete who swam for both Great Britain and Kenya over a 10-year career. She is a former British Champion, world number one and the first Black woman ever to swim for Great Britain. Honoured in Forbes 30 Under 30 Class of 2023 in the Social Impact category and TIME's list of 18 Black leaders working to end the racial wealth gap, Rebecca is also the CEO of the 10,000 Interns Foundation, a non-profit that champions underrepresented talent. Rebecca studied Fine Art at the University of Oxford. She lives in London but still calls Kenya home. These Heavy Black Bones is her first book. @raajulubushell

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