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by Ruth Mancini- 2013

My debut novel “Swimming Upstream” was born out of my own experience of ending a long-term relationship and having to “face myself” when events from my own past reared up to haunt me. I realized that I was not growing in the relationship and that although I still loved my partner, I was living his life, not mine. I had very mixed feelings. He was still the most important person in my life and I was scared to leave and be on my own. I lost my father at a young age and hadn't really got over that and I think that was part of what made it difficult. My romantic relationships had always been sticking plasters for that old wound. But I knew instinctively that being alone for a while was something I had to do. I was very young when I met and moved in with my partner, who was several years older, so it was easy to lose myself in the relationship. We were both very dependent on each other emotionally. So, leaving him was hard. I’ve been an avid reader all my life and I turned to books for the answers I wanted. I wanted to read a novel about someone who was going through the same thing as me and who had survived. I couldn't find anything suitable, so I wrote it down instead! 

Although I’ve drawn heavily on my own experiences in writing Swimming Upstream, it’s a story first and foremost. It’s been through several drafts since the time I first put pen to paper over twenty years ago. It’s the story of a young woman, Lizzie, who is going through a relationship break-up and the sequence of unexpected and explosive events that begin to change her life forever. Secrets emerge and there are themes of violence, betrayal and loss. But I think it’s a life affirming and humorous story too. Lizzie is strong – a survivor. I like reading women’s fiction novels with strong female characters so naturally those are the characters I like to write about. However, I do like a story with a bit of pace and enjoy psychological thrillers. I think that “Swimming Upstream” has both aspects to it.

My life couldn't be more different from Lizzie’s now. I’m married with two children aged 11 and 8 and I work as a lawyer as well as a writer, so, like the lives of most working mothers, mine is completely and utterly hectic. Also, my eldest child is severely learning disabled and can’t talk, feed or dress himself so needs a lot of help. Coming to terms with his disability was hard emotionally and on a practical level it’s still pretty hard work but there is a lot of love and laughter in our family and I have good friends, so despite the many challenges I’ve faced over the years, I consider myself a very fortunate person. I’m definitely a bottle-half-full kind of person and I hope that comes through in my writing. Like most people, I get down from time to time but when a problem arises I always begin looking for a solution straight away. Sometimes (as with my son) the solution is simply acceptance. But I do believe that we have the power to attract what we wish for.

Ruth Mancini was born in South-West London and educated in Cambridge and London where she gained a bachelors degree in French and Spanish and a post-graduate diploma in Law.

She now lives in Oxfordshire with her husband and two children. She still practices law and juggles that with writing and raising the children.