These Heavy Black Bones

[These Heavy Black Bones] documents the dedication demanded of a young athlete; the sacrifice and strain that comes with competing at the highest of levels. It’s vulnerable and exposing * * Observer * *What a book! Rebecca is such a brilliant writer and These Heavy Black Bones reads with the tension of a thriller, illuminating the world of elite sport, both the struggle and sacrifice. A feast in every way: for the intellect and the senses, so very visceral – CATHY RENTZENBRINKAbsolutely remarkable. There can’t be many top athletes who are also top writers and so devastatingly honest. It is truly unique – LYNN BARBERIn a searing new memoir, former champion swimmer Rebecca Achieng Ajulu-Bushell reveals the true cost of excellence * * Vogue * *Not often do I read a story where the writer loves and inhabits water deeply enough to change her life forever. Rebecca Achieng Ajulu-Bushell’s These Heavy Black Bones is an embodied water odyssey from a fellow writer, athlete and aquanaut, a woman who shreds both the competition at the highest levels as well as the structures that hold up white systems of oppression. A decolonisation of body and voice. A love song to water and what it takes to self-liberate – LIDIA YUKNAVITCHAs 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 * *Speaks about the intensity of training and the pressure of often being the only Black woman poolside * * Women’s Health * *A moving, open memoir which made me admire Rebecca even more than I did before – PIPPA VOSPERPoetic, candid and utterly compelling - I was ready to follow Rebecca’s writing wherever it flowed. This book is a true tide of courage! – FREYA BROMLEY

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. It was shortlisted for the William Hill Sports Book of the Year, the Hatchards First Biography Prize and the Charles Tyrwhitt Sports Book Awards.