Watermarks

'Freighted with memory, Watermarks is a treasure of lived experience' Katharine Norbury, author of The Fish Ladder

'An amazing piece of work' Kate Saunders, The Times

Lenka Janiurek is the daughter of a Polish immigrant father, the sister of five brothers, the wife of one husband, the lover of several men, and the mother of two more. Her stunning memoir speaks of identity and finding a place in a country that isn't your own, within a family that doesn't feel like your own. Retracing her path across continents and decades, from the 1960s to the present day, from public success to private anguish.

A gifted writer from a very young age, Lenka had her first play performed at the Royal Court in London in 1982, while she was still at school.

She remains haunted by the rage, addiction and despair of the men she is closest to. But the natural world, particularly water and swimming, offers a profound solace.