Surf Mama

Wilma Johnson thought she knew what her life was; she was living on the west coast of Ireland with her surfer husband and three children, balancing the challenges of being an artist, wife and mother, when impulse and a deep desire to seize the day led her to move to Biarritz and become a surfer. The waters aren't always calm and relationships aren't always steady, but once she knows the euphoric feeling of catching the biggest wave of her live, it's all worth it. Besides, she's already gone from being a free-living, naturist performance artist to Earth Mother, so becoming a Surf Mama is just one more step ? right? AUTHOR: Wilma Johnson has a degree in fine art and was part of the Neo-Naturist performance art group, appearing throughout the 1980s in venues as diverse as the Royal Opera House and the Spanish Anarchist headquarters. She spent a year in Mexico, following the fiesta, painting in hotel rooms and drinking pulque with friends of Frida Kahlo and Diego Rivera. She took up surfing at the age of 45 and moved to an art deco casino near Biarritz. SELLING POINTS: ? An inspiring memoir of a woman making a fresh start in midlife; will appeal to anyone who has ever dreamed of starting over ? Surfing is a consistently popular subject, and Wilma, now an expert surfer, writes about it with a beginner's passion REVIEWS: 'Surf Mama is an exceptional memoir? a highly inspiring, thoroughly enjoyable and heartily recommended book' ? theculturepick.com