Kate Washington on how getting into cold water saved her life

Kate Washington on how getting into cold water saved her life

May 07, 2026 | 16 mins
Kate Washington spent years giving everything to everyone else — caregiving, motherhood, a failing marriage — until she was empty. Her answer was cold water: 50 dunks in California rivers, creeks, and swimming holes before her 50th birthday. The author of "Midstream: A Life Remade in 50 Swims," she shares her story about joy and water as an act of reclamation.
  • Drowning
  • Birthday
  • Swimming

People

Podcast Transcript

California Sun Podcast Journalists