Creative writing workshop at Leeds International Festival with Projecting Grief on 20th August - Sign up here > People meet me and there’s a sense that we know each other already because they have often spent quite a lot of time with me. There’s a natural intimacy there, and it has been beautiful.” They’ll just start with describing somebody they’ve lost in their life. Often you meet people, it’s like, Hi, how are you? What’s your name? What’s your job? and that kind of bullshit on the surface. The book has been a way to totally cut through to what really resonates with people, and that has been an amazing gift.”

By the time we finally knew what was happening, Tom’s Ewing's Sarcoma was everywhere. My family had both a long time to say goodbye and never enough time to face the reality of someone we loved – and someone so young – being ill. Even now, it doesn’t feel real. I remember people saying, 'I just can’t believe it'. Yet really it is the most believable thing of all. We know death happens every day, we just try to avoid paying attention. Dying is the most predictable thing anyone can do. Just not when they leave behind me or leave behind you. Tom died in November 2016. Bromley, who is currently studying on the Creative Writing Master of Studies course at Cambridge University, commented: “I’m thrilled that The Tidal Year has found a home with the talented team at Coronet. I didn’t expect my first book to be a memoir and I certainly didn’t think I’d be writing about something as personal as my brother’s death. Let's talk about men's mental health! This week's guest is Tom Mason the co-founder of Blue Balls Cornwall, a cold water swimming group specifically for the men of Cornwall. We spoke about how cold water develops resilience, building a community and tidal pools.

More clips from Steve Jones, Rekha Mistry, Freya Bromley, Mathew Baynton

This is something I do. I’ve often made the mistake of thinking that if I change something in my life, I’ll change my mood. As though my mind has a Restore to Factory Settings button that can only be activated by pottery classes or new Pilates bands. I like to think this at least makes me more original than getting a breakdown haircut. The Tidal Year is a story about the healing power of wild swimming and the space it creates for reflection, rewilding, and hope. An exploration of grief in the modern age, it’s also a tale of female rage, sisterhood loss and love in the modern age.”

Multi-hyphenate Steve Jones, TV presenter, podcaster, novelist and librocubicularist, discusses his debut novel Call Time. I adored this book, with its beautiful imagery and depictions of the British coastline. It’s hard to give structure to your own story but Freya manages to convey her development via clear plot points while refusing to portray grief as linear. I loved the honesty of this book; the anger and injustice of a teenage boy dying too soon, the guilt of dating and living without him, and the difficulties of connecting to other family members after a huge shift in your dynamics. Bromley first made waves with her swimming themed podcast of the same name, which caught the attention of a literary agent. “I feel like a lot of us expect that it’s over before it’s even started”, she expresses, in relation to her early success. Though Bromley managed to publish The Tidal Year through traditional means, she also urges for “a revolution in sharing people’s stories, regardless of who’s publishing them. I think that’s what’s happening with Unbound, which is like crowdfunding for books.”The Tidal Year is a true story about the healing power of wild swimming and the space it creates for reflection, rewilding, and hope. An exploration of grief in the modern age, it’s also a tale of loss, love, female rage and sisterhood. All have communities that meet regularly for swims and fundraise to keep them swimmable. I spoke to a woman at Clevedon Marine Lake in Bristol who said that swimming there saved her life. You might think that sounds hyperbolic, but after travelling around mainland Britain to swim in these places, I learned that it was a common theme. People are swimming to answer a question inside them. 'Why do I feel like this? When will I feel better? Can I keep going?' Her experience was not without frustrations, but Cambridge allowed Bromley to solidify her identity and confidence through learning and community. “We all had this shared intention of wanting to […] turn something that felt like a secret inside us into being a huge part of our identity. That was really powerful to be around. It was almost like we were co-signing each other’s dreams.”