Why I Swim: Emilia Hart

Author Emilia Hart almost drowned as a child yet still loves the water. Her new book, The Sirens, is all about the power of the sea.

Tell us about your new book and why we will love it?

The Sirens is the story of two sets of sisters separated by time but connected by the power of the sea. In 2019, we follow Lucy, who is searching for her missing sister Jess in the seaside town of Comber Bay on the south coast of NSW, notorious for its disappearances and shipwrecks. Their story is intertwined with that of Mary and Eliza, twin sisters who are being transported from Ireland to Australia on board a convict ship in the 1800s.

What are your experiences of the water?

Funnily enough, I actually almost drowned as a child. When I was about two years old, my parents were having a barbeque and I somehow ended up in our backyard swimming pool. Luckily, my grandmother rescued me before things became too serious. Despite this, I have loved the water ever since!

What is your relationship with swimming?

Swimming has been so important to me over the course of my life, but particularly in the last few years. When I was in my mid-twenties I unexpectedly suffered a stroke and swimming was a huge part of my recovery: it was a way of regaining trust in my own body. For me, swimming has almost been a ‘gateway drug’ into other forms of physical movement, like running and yoga. I love the feeling of escape that being in the water offers.

What can we learn from the women in our lives?

So much! Of course, every woman is unique but I do think we have many shared experiences, though sadly not all of these are positive. It isn’t easy to be a girl or woman in this world; it never has been. While it’s frustrating to realise that we are still fighting the same battles as our mothers and grandmothers, I think we can take a huge amount of inspiration from their stories and their resilience.

How did you build the characters in your book?

Mary and Eliza came to me first. Prior to writing the novel I’d learned that one of my ancestors was the captain of a convict ship which transported Irish men and women to Australia in the early 1800s. I’m also descended from several Irish women who emigrated to Australia during the famine, and I was struck by the thought that if they had been alive a few decades earlier, they might have ended up on that convict ship. Their bond, and that of my modern-day sisters, Lucy and Jess, is inspired by my own close relationship with my wonderful sister Katie.

How does swimming/water inspire your work/writing?

I think the water is a great place to think; it’s the only place where I can tune out the rest of the world successfully. While writing The Sirens, I was homesick for the Australian coastline, so I listened to ‘ocean sounds’ while writing in an attempt to transport myself there.

Where is your favourite place to swim?

McIver’s Ladies Baths in Coogee, Sydney. The baths are formed out of a natural rockpool that sits right on the edge of the ocean: it’s truly the most beautiful place on earth. Women have had a connection with the baths for a very long time: in fact, the site has been sacred to women and girls of the Eora Nation for millennia. It feels incredibly meaningful to swim there.

What does a typical day look like for you?

I do try to write every weekday: I normally set myself a ‘word count goal’ of about a thousand words, give or take. Sometimes that takes one hour, sometimes it takes five! I try to exercise every day and I read every night.

The Sirens is published by The Borough Press and is out now.