Learning to Swim

Thirteen years after a life-altering summer, Abigail Jex finds her carefully constructed peace shattered when she encounters a ghost from her past. As a young girl, Abigail was irresistibly drawn into the vibrant, unconventional world of the Radley family, who had transplanted their bohemian lifestyle from North London to the quiet suburbs. There was Frances, her spirited best friend; Lexi, Frances's headstrong and liberated mother; and the magnetic Rad. The Radleys offered Abigail a captivating escape, a 'magic circle' filled with artistic freedom and emotional intensity, starkly different from her own upbringing. However, this idyllic, yet tumultuous, period ended abruptly in a catastrophe that Abigail has long tried to forget. Now, a chance meeting forces her to confront the lingering specter of her time with them, revealing that the profound spell the Radleys cast on her, and the unresolved trauma of their eventual separation, is far from broken. The novel delves into themes of memory, the indelible marks of first loves and friendships, and the enduring power of the past.