Join award-winning author and travel writer Laura Hall as she presents The Year I Lay My Head in Water, a love letter to the sea and a clarion call for anybody stuck in a rut who needs to rekindle their lust for life.
Laying your head in water is what you do when you're having a bad day. The water is where you go when you need time to think. It's where you go when you reach a crossroads in your life.
Living in Copenhagen had been a dream for Laura Hall and it was working out—until it wasn't. She discovered that the trials of life will follow you anywhere, as she felt herself disintegrating into stress and burnout. She was unmoored and unsure of how to find her place in the world.
What followed was a year swimming the cold seas of Scandinavia in search of answers and meaning. She swam in iceberg-filled seas in Greenland, Viking spas in Iceland, and beaches and piers all over Norway, Denmark and Sweden. During this year of discovery, Laura met other people doing the same thing and swapped notes, discovering ways to use the water to strengthen a bond with nature and get back to a more human way of life.
Interviewed by music and travel writer, James Briggs, join us for an evening exploring the transformative power of cold water swimming, finding community in shared vulnerability, and the ways nature can guide us back to ourselves when modern life becomes overwhelming.
“A hugely refreshing take on the open water experience—this book reminds us of what is wonderful about being human, and the magic that happens when you open yourself up to adventure. It’s a treat.” Emma Simpson, author of Breaking Waves

The ‘stream and book’ package includes a unique ticket for the stream, and a copy of The Year I Lay My Head in Water (RRP £18.99) deliverable to any UK address.
The event will initially be broadcast on 15 January at 6.30pm UK time. It will be available to view up to two weeks after the event has ended and can be accessed Worldwide. If you live in a time zone that does not suit the initial broadcast time you can watch it at any point after the initial showing for two weeks.
If you have any questions, please email [email protected].