In Swimming with the Viking of Skye, Rich Waters shares his powerful true story of finding strength, purpose and hope in the face of life-altering adversity. At just 41, Rich received a devastating diagnosis of early-onset Parkinson’s disease, only to learn soon after that his young daughter was living with a degenerative condition of her own. Overnight, life as he knew it was swept away.

Yet with unyielding resolve, Rich made a bold choice: to fight for meaning, to seek connection, and to embrace every moment he had left. That search led him somewhere unexpected, into the icy, elemental waters of the Isle of Skye, where cold water swimming became a lifeline, a teacher, and a profound source of healing.

Under the guidance of Matt Rhodes, known locally as The Viking of Skye, Rich discovered that the freezing temperatures, surging tides and unpredictable weather held a deeper lesson. The wild water mirrored the challenges of living with chronic illness: the shock, the fear, the surrender, and the strength required to rise again.

With every plunge into the cold, Rich found clarity, courage and connection, not only with nature, but with himself. The sea became a place where vulnerability turned into resilience, where pain made space for joy, and where the hardest moments revealed unexpected beauty.

A moving blend of memoir, wild swimming writing and nature-based healing, Swimming with the Viking of Skye is a testament to endurance, love, and the power of wild places to restore the human spirit. It is also the story of a father’s fierce devotion, and the remarkable ways nature can guide us through even the darkest waters.