Treading Water

Treading Water

Sydney Hanley was four years old when her mom gave her the nickname “Fishy Girl.” Growing up by a lake, Sydney was always in the water—often deeper than her mother would have liked. She played mermaids with her sister, catch with her brothers, and swam laps to her neighbors’ buoys and back. She would spend hours in the lake for days at a time. She could never just be by the water; if she was near it, she had to go under, had to swim. At freshly nineteen, in the spring of her senior year of high school, Sydney learned how to properly tread water for the first time. Now in college, Sydney reflects on her time spent as an athlete throughout her life with her memoir, Treading Water. She refuses to hold back the raw moments of her journey toward college athletics as she extends a lifeline to those struggling in a world obsessed with the curation of self-images. Treading Water breaks into “writing sketches” to convey Sydney’s personal entrapment with the relentless pursuit of perfection, the emotional toll of being consistently reduced to statistics, and the lull that follows a blatant failure to meet expectations. The memoir also delves into critical moments in Sydney’s life where seeking help and embracing vulnerability propelled her toward a stage of healing and self-acceptance. With Treading Water, Sydney shares how sometimes just keeping her head above water was exhausting. Sometimes, she even gave up completely. But ultimately, she created her own path back to self-fulfillment and acceptance. Her memoir is a testament to the importance of mental health in sports, the courage it takes to speak out, and the strength in the legs of those still treading.