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For women approaching midlife who have abandoned themselves in service of others, a memoir of jumping feet first into a new life, reclaiming long-forgotten joys, and discovering a renewed sense of self after divorce
As Kate Washington approached her 50th birthday, she was also ending a 23-year marriage in which she had become so focused on serving others that she’d lost her sense of self. To find herself again, she embarked on what she calls the 50 Dunks Project.
The rules: Go to 50 different bodies of water—swimming holes, hot springs, rivers, lakes, creeks, and oceans. Immerse fully, head under water. Chronicle the dunk with a picture and a post. Complete the challenge by the time she turned 50.
Largely set in Kate’s native California but taking us as far as southern France, dunking us in the waters of the Sacramento River, Lake Tenaya, Big Chico Creek, the Rive Gard, and beyond, Kate shares the highlights of her 50 Dunk challenge—including dozens of fantastic, semi-secret places to swim.
Along the way, she combines self-examination, wry humor, lyrical description, and cultural critique to illuminate the factors that so often cause women to lose themselves. Watersheds makes the case for embracing joy and pleasure as a necessary act of resistance, both for individuals and for the culture at large.
“Midstream gives us not only a beautiful story of becoming but a road map for anyone taking on a new chapter in life. Washington’s honesty and vulnerability are breaths of fresh air.”
—Eve Rodsky, author of Fair Play
“A lifeline for anyone ready to reclaim themselves, Washington’s journey of rebirth pulls us in. With her, we trespass and risk, float and let go. For any woman seeking a path out of rage and despair that she can hardly explain to herself, or waiting for permission to leave a marriage that looks good from the outside but feels like death on the inside, Midstream is the needed nudge to take the leap. And Washington’s story reminds us that we never leap alone.”
—Kate Hamilton, author of Mad Wife
“Kate Washington’s journey through fifty swims reminds us of the quiet power of water, wild places, and the courage it takes to begin again.”
—Ashley Shult Langdon, author of Mildly Scenic
“I read Midstream just after turning fifty myself, and it was a comforting reminder of what actual self-agency looks like. It does not require much money, a ‘perfect’ body, or excesses of time, just a bit of empathy for oneself, a sense of humor, and a big dig into one’s own heart. Beautifully written with a true connection to nature that I didn’t realize I needed, Midstream is a must-read.”
—Kate Mangino, author of Equal Partners