Wilma Johnson was living on the west coast of Ireland with her family, balancing the challenges of being an artist, wife and mother, until, in her forties, she was gripped by a deep desire to seize the day, and moved to Biarritz to become a surfer. The plan hits troubled waters as she arrives in France with her marriage on the rocks and three children who speak no French. Her first attempts at surfing are disastrous; resulting in bruises, broken bones and a damaged ego, but when she experiences the euphoric feeling of catching her first wave and sets up the Mamas Surf Club, it’s all worth it.

Wilma Johnson was living on the west coast of Ireland with her family, balancing the challenges of being an artist, wife and mother, until, in her forties, she was gripped by a deep desire to seize the day, and moved to Biarritz to become a surfer. The plan hits troubled waters as she arrives in France with her marriage on the rocks and three children who speak no French. Her first attempts at surfing are disastrous; resulting in bruises, broken bones and a damaged ego, but when she experiences the euphoric feeling of catching her first wave and sets up the Mamas Surf Club, it’s all worth it.

Wilma Johnson vivait sur la côte ouest de l’Irlande avec sa famille, essayant de concilier sa vie d’artiste, d’épouse et de mère de trois enfants jusqu’au jour où, à quarante ans, elle se rend soudain compte qu’il n’est plus temps d’attendre et qu’il lui faut apprendre à surfer. Où, mieux qu’à Biarritz ? Une fois en France, tout ne se passe pas comme prévu. Son mariage bat de l’aile, ses enfants ne parlent pas français et ses premières tentatives pour apprendre à surfer sont désastreuses. Pourtant, malgré les bleus, les fractures et un ego malmené, lorsque, enfin, elle prend sa première vague, l’ivresse est telle qu’elle décide de créer le Club des Mamas Surfeuses. Dans ce premier roman paru en 2014 chez Summersdale, à l’humour très « British », Wilma Johnson nous fait assister à sa renaissance laborieuse et joyeuse au sein de ce Pays Basque qu’elle a appris à aimer et qu’elle ne voudrait désormais quitter pour rien au monde.

Im Jahr 2003 verlor die damals 13-jährige Profisurferin Bethany Hamilton durch die Attacke eines über 4 Meter großen Tigerhais ihren linken Arm. Doch sie gab nicht auf: mit Mut, einem starken Willen und ihrem unerschütterlichen Glauben an Gott gelang ihr ein außergewöhnliches Comeback. Bereits zwei Jahre später surfte sie trotz ihrer Behinderung wieder in der Weltspitze und wurde 2007 US-amerikanische Surfmeisterin. Seitdem ist viel passiert. Bethanys Leben wurde mit hochkarätigen Stars wie Helen Hunt und Dennis Quaid fürs Kino verfilmt. Doch dass sie nicht nur hinter die Kulissen eines Hollywoodfilmdrehs blicken konnte, sondern auch als gefragter Gast in Talkshows, Gemeinden und für Hilfsorganisationen wie World Vision um die Welt reist, beschreibt sie in dieser erweiterten Neuausgabe ihres Bestsellers Soul Surfer. Meine Geschichte.

A Bank Street Best Book of 2021 A Galaxy of Sea Stars is Jeanne Zulick Ferruolo’s second middle-grade novel—a heartwarming story about family, loyalty, and the hard choices we face in the name of friendship. Sometimes, the truth isn’t easy to see. Sometimes, you have to look below the surface to find it. Eleven-year-old Izzy feels as though her whole world is shifting, and she doesn’t like it. She wants her dad to act like he did before he was deployed to Afghanistan. She wants her mom to live with them at the marina where they’ve moved instead of spending all her time on Block Island. Most of all, she wants Piper, Zelda, and herself—the Sea Stars—to stay best friends, as they start sixth grade in a new school. Everything changes when Izzy’s father invites his former interpreter’s family, including eleven-year-old Sitara, to move into the marina’s upstairs apartment. Izzy doesn’t know what to make of Sitara—with her hijab and refusal to eat cafeteria food—and her presence disrupts the Sea Stars. But in Sitara Izzy finds someone brave, someone daring, someone who isn’t as afraid as Izzy is to use her voice and speak up for herself. As Izzy and Sitara grow closer, Izzy must make a choice: stay in her comfort zone and risk betraying her new friend, or speak up and lose the Sea Stars forever.