Passion Projects
Beneath The Surface
While trying to process my life and feelings, I started writing. This is the result of that work — part therapy, part autobiography, all me.
About Beneath The Surface
I wrote Beneath The Surface throughout 2018 and 2019 — in the window between Eddie being born and Bronte coming along. What’s a little more work, right!
During those long nights up with Eddie as a newborn I began reflecting on the path I’d walked since being a child.
Looking back, it became clear to me that the experiences I’d lived through — from winning gold medals at the Olympic Games to having anxiety and post-natal depression — had given me a unique perspective on what makes us tick as people.
Especially how little we actually know about each other when we can only really see what’s visible on the surface.
So I put pen to paper and started writing. And writing. And in between babies being born, so was this book.
If there’s one thing I’d like people to get from reading this, this, it’s that things don’t always feel as great as they look, and sometimes they don’t look as great as they feel, and it’s hard to know the difference unless you listen to someone’s story. I hope you enjoy it.
Lib x
“Australians know Libby Trickett as one of our golden girls of swimming. Winner of multiple Olympic gold medals and setter of world records, Libby wasn’t just a champion, she was Australia’s girl next door, the humble superstar from suburban Brisbane with the infectious grin and sunny nature.
Yet what we saw on the surface - the confidence, competitiveness and warmth that were her hallmarks - belied the very private battles she fought in her own head. Beneath the incredible achievements and that trademark smile, Libby suffered from crippling depression.
Libby’s memoir is an extraordinarily candid, revealing and inspiring account of both her public life as one of our greatest swimming champions, and her struggle to overcome her mental health challenges.”