S1, E4: Author Emma Simpson on Wild Swimming & Healing from Grief in Breaking Waves

Our host and bestselling author Theo Clarke speaks to Emma Simpson, author, wild swimmer and tea sommelier, about her debut book Breaking Waves: Discovery, Healing and Inspiration in the Open Water, published by Icon Books in 2025.

Together they discuss what it means to discover creativity later in life, finding healing in nature from grief, and how storytelling can help us reclaim our voice. Emma also shares insights from path to publication, and how writing has transformed her everyday life.BREAKING WAVESA warm, reflective and uplifting memoir about healing wounds, reclaiming a voice and discovering freedom through the open water. To the uninitiated, wild swimming represents mystery and risk — but for Emma Simpson, the open water became a sanctuary. After a period of deep grief and disconnection, she found solace, strength and a profound sense of belonging in rivers, lakes and seas.Through the stories of women around the world and her own journey, Emma explores the power of water to renew and reconnect us - touching on loss, resilience, body confidence and the courage to begin again. Breaking Waves is both a love letter to womanhood and the natural world, and a celebration of community, creativity and going with the flow.BIOGRAPHYEmma Simpson is an award-winning author, wild swimmer and tea sommelier. Her debut book, Breaking Waves, was published in March 2025 to 5-star reviews, and explores the unique relationship of women with water around the world. Her second book: The Purple Vine Teahouse is currently in progress and is rooted in her passion for tea. Blending memoir and cultural history, it is a modern love story with a twist.

Emma lives in the South of England with her fire-fighter husband, two teenage daughters, a rescue greyhound and a sixty-year-old tortoise. She can generally be found swimming in rivers in a bikini in the snow, drinking tea with friends or embarrassing her children with her compulsion to talk with anyone she meets.🌊 www.emmasimpsonauthor.com📸 Instagram & Substack: @emmasimpsonauthor

ABOUT THE HOST

Theo Clarke hosts the podcast A Thread of One’s Own and the Top-5 UK hit podcast Breaking the Taboo. She is also the bestselling author of Breaking the Taboo: Why We Need to Talk About Birth Trauma. The former Member of Parliament for Stafford, Theo won Speech of the Year at the Parliamentarian of the Year Awards in the UK and has twice been listed among the Top 100 Women in Westminster (2024 & 2025).

Follow @theoclarkemp

This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit theodoraclarke.substack.com