I loved this beautiful book. It's an attentive meditation on the pleasures and lessons of swimming in lakes, particularly in winter. Jessica Lee wears her bravery lightly and shares her knowledge with generosity. I recommend for outdoor swimmers or those who would like to be
- Amy Liptrot, author of The Outrun,
A brilliant debut . . . there is clarity and pleasure in the swim's afterglow
Times Literary Supplement
<b>A sublime, philosophical slipping </b><b>into the deep</b>. Her book, <i>Turning</i>, is filled with a wonderful melancholy as she swims through lakes laden with dark histories
- Philip Hoare, New Statesman
Lee is intelligent and controlled, her writing clean and accurate . . . <i>Turning</i> is many things: a snapshot of Berlin seen through the prism of its lakes; the story of a broken and healing heart; a contemplation of identity; a coming-of-age story
- Katharine Norbury, Observer
Bold and brave, she approaches her watery pilgrimage with a minimum amount of fuss. She doesn't, for instance, allow the ice on Brandenburg's lakes to get in her way, but takes a hammer to it . . . Lee writes like a siren, her silken prose blending with softly worn scholarship to enchanting effect. I challenge anyone to write more compellingly about Slavic suffixes or the formation of ice
Literary Review
The redemptive power of these wild landscapes, the changes in the water, and in Jessica, combine to create an inspiring story
Daily Telegraph
A lovely, poetic, sensuous and melancholy book
Irish Examiner
<i>Turning</i> is about the joys of swimming through the year . . . Jessica brilliantly takes us into the water with her, even on those freezing mornings when she had to use a hammer to smash through the ice to get her fix. It's as much about loss and recovery as it is swimming. <b>The water helps soothe Jessica's heartbreak and depression - a lesson for the rest of us about the healing power of nature</b>
- Sun (Fabulous),