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Oxygen: A Memoir
LEARN THE POWER OF THE HUMAN MIND FROM THE WORLD'S GREATEST FREEDIVER One of the most mesmerising books about the ocean you'll ever read...New Zealander William Trubridge has reached depths never thought possible on the precipice of low oxygen. In a sport where failure usually means blacking out, it is a freediver's daily life to contend with suffocation, narcosis, hallucinations, lactic acidosis, compressed lungs, and immense water-column pressure - all while diving into depths of ink black ocean. Exquisitely written, Oxygen is a mind-altering and immersive coming-of-age story about a boy who grew up on a sailing boat, with the sea his classroom and playground. It is about fighting the trappings of life on land, and pushing the limits of human physiology, to become the world's greatest freediver.
336 pages, Kindle Edition
Published October 23, 2017
58 people are currently reading
350 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 28 of 28 reviews
November 30, 2017
Beautifully written and both a detailed and an insightful look at the development and growth of freediving as a sport and William as an individual. Great insight into the mental and physical preparation and enormous undertaking and stresses exerted on the body. A great autobiographical background and a real deep delve into the mind of one of the sports greats.
December 30, 2017
A pleasurable journey into the unknown world of freediving: more so because of its autobiographical candor. For those seeking more than sport this book has something enriching too. I enjoyed the insights.
October 9, 2018
Amazing
Although not a diver myself this book was really good. It was exiting and not only about the meters, records or technical stuff but about where we all come from and life in general.
Although not a diver myself this book was really good. It was exiting and not only about the meters, records or technical stuff but about where we all come from and life in general.
October 14, 2018
After viewing a television broadcast of our very own NZ freediver, William Trubridge on a couple of occasions, I had to buy this book.
"I had promised New Zealand that I would be back to try for the record again and that when I finally reached the mark it would be dedicated to everyone who had supported me in the process."
I remember the failed attempt and I remember those words William spoke.
"This time, there were no hiccups and after being under water for 4 minutes, 30 seconds, I surfaced and claimed my seventeenth world record."
I remember the triumph, the happiness and elation. However, it wasn't until I read William Trubridges memoir, that I found out how hard this had been in the first place.
This memoir has stages that seperate readers can identify. Life as a child growing up on a boat, free diving as a sport, ethnic and techniques used in his training and Williams affinity with the sea, dolphins in particular and other sea creatures.
I recommend this book who loves memoirs, who is interested in free diving, who wants to know the techniques used in free diving, who is into spirituality, who loves to hear about anyone who is trying to do good for the environment, especially sea wise.
"I had promised New Zealand that I would be back to try for the record again and that when I finally reached the mark it would be dedicated to everyone who had supported me in the process."
I remember the failed attempt and I remember those words William spoke.
"This time, there were no hiccups and after being under water for 4 minutes, 30 seconds, I surfaced and claimed my seventeenth world record."
I remember the triumph, the happiness and elation. However, it wasn't until I read William Trubridges memoir, that I found out how hard this had been in the first place.
This memoir has stages that seperate readers can identify. Life as a child growing up on a boat, free diving as a sport, ethnic and techniques used in his training and Williams affinity with the sea, dolphins in particular and other sea creatures.
I recommend this book who loves memoirs, who is interested in free diving, who wants to know the techniques used in free diving, who is into spirituality, who loves to hear about anyone who is trying to do good for the environment, especially sea wise.
July 1, 2018
"Oxygen" by William Trubridge portrays the competitive free diving world from his point of view and experience, from his childhood until his most recent world records. It shows the internal monologue and goes beyond the regular tale of ones struggle to success by showing the result of some of his choices.
The story is not just a linear description of his life, but is also interspersed with some of the interpretation of experiences in which he shows himself to be in line of the Jacques Mayol and Umberto Pellizari tradition of thought. There is however not much time spend on freediving science, which works for this particular book.
The only thing I really have missed is a reflection on the subject of black-outs due hypoxia. Will these be the next sport injury after lungsqueeze to be recognised to have been underestimated?
The story is not just a linear description of his life, but is also interspersed with some of the interpretation of experiences in which he shows himself to be in line of the Jacques Mayol and Umberto Pellizari tradition of thought. There is however not much time spend on freediving science, which works for this particular book.
The only thing I really have missed is a reflection on the subject of black-outs due hypoxia. Will these be the next sport injury after lungsqueeze to be recognised to have been underestimated?
July 21, 2018
This book was at times interesting and insightful, but I did lose that for a while halfway through, where I had to put it down and step away for a few days. But it picked up again and I found his prose and passion drew me in again. It was interesting to hear his stance on the live record attempts which I remember receiving so much coverage here in New Zealand at the time. He’s still not celebrated enough here at home, especially now I know how much he’s done in and for his sport.
December 12, 2017
Beautiul exploration og one og the most beautiul and ellusive sports. Very well written - William has the chops! Kuddos
May 24, 2018
Powerful. I ask myself finishing, what are my goals and dreams?
August 6, 2018
A beautifully written book, William's sport has taught him (and now us), some wonderfully deep insights into what it is to be human.
April 12, 2024
Great book for freedivers. Much better and more authentic than Guillaume Nery's books
October 9, 2022
This memoir is an amazing representation of what the human body and mind can achieve.
William Trubridge is a New Zealand world champion and world record holding
freediver. Trubridge was the first diver to go deeper than 100 metres (330 ft) without oxygen
and as of 2013 held the world record in the free immersion and constant weight without
fins disciplines. At a young age his parents and siblings along with him went to live on a boat
sailing around the world. He states all the different cultures, foods, and people he encountered
during that time in his life. The book goes into extreme detail of describing the travels, waters
of the different shores and pretty much everything there is to describe. Unfortunately, that’s
what makes the book quite dull for the first 60 pages or so. Of course, you will not like the book
if you don’t engage or have no interest in freediving or human psychology. His training regime is
also very informative and someone that indulges in freediving can learn a lot of valuable
information on the sport and mindset of one of the best, if not the best, free divers in the
world. We get to know Trubridge on a personal level as well as his living and financial
situations, his relationships with friends and family and his love for the sport. His goal when he
started freediving was to ultimately show what humans are capable of. His childhood, while
unique, was what connected him with the ocean and its beauties. In his later teens while in
college he was partying and working odd jobs he found boring and meaningless. When his
friend returned from Thailand after a month of being a scuba diving instructor, he mentioned
freediving. That word circled in and out of Williams life, but this was the first time he
acknowledged it. He was intrigued by the stories his friend was telling him about the champions
at that time. In the following weeks he researched the different techniques they employed into
their dives and training. In 2003, he returned to the sea and found freediving after being in
London for a good while. He visited all the amazing and famous diving sites all around the
world. The book feels like you are reading his diary just by the sheer number of details he talks
about. Every step is accounted for and every experience of the ocean is depicted in a
miraculous way. He talks about overcoming failures and stepping up to the occasion. When he
had any negative thoughts before a big dive when beginning his decent, he would say to the
voices or thoughts “Whatever you have to say, it’s irrelevant now – the dive has already been
decided long ago.” His unbelievable ability to relive himself of almost all his senses, to be
completely immune to any form of distraction while diving and to be detached from time and
completely present really is amazing. The human body can only handle so much, Trubridge
doing a 100+ m dive was pretty much all mental preparation. We see that in other sports that
require extreme levels of strength and inhuman physical prowess. I picked this book just as
something to mindlessly read for an assignment, but I really immersed myself into it and found
it quite unique and calming.
William Trubridge is a New Zealand world champion and world record holding
freediver. Trubridge was the first diver to go deeper than 100 metres (330 ft) without oxygen
and as of 2013 held the world record in the free immersion and constant weight without
fins disciplines. At a young age his parents and siblings along with him went to live on a boat
sailing around the world. He states all the different cultures, foods, and people he encountered
during that time in his life. The book goes into extreme detail of describing the travels, waters
of the different shores and pretty much everything there is to describe. Unfortunately, that’s
what makes the book quite dull for the first 60 pages or so. Of course, you will not like the book
if you don’t engage or have no interest in freediving or human psychology. His training regime is
also very informative and someone that indulges in freediving can learn a lot of valuable
information on the sport and mindset of one of the best, if not the best, free divers in the
world. We get to know Trubridge on a personal level as well as his living and financial
situations, his relationships with friends and family and his love for the sport. His goal when he
started freediving was to ultimately show what humans are capable of. His childhood, while
unique, was what connected him with the ocean and its beauties. In his later teens while in
college he was partying and working odd jobs he found boring and meaningless. When his
friend returned from Thailand after a month of being a scuba diving instructor, he mentioned
freediving. That word circled in and out of Williams life, but this was the first time he
acknowledged it. He was intrigued by the stories his friend was telling him about the champions
at that time. In the following weeks he researched the different techniques they employed into
their dives and training. In 2003, he returned to the sea and found freediving after being in
London for a good while. He visited all the amazing and famous diving sites all around the
world. The book feels like you are reading his diary just by the sheer number of details he talks
about. Every step is accounted for and every experience of the ocean is depicted in a
miraculous way. He talks about overcoming failures and stepping up to the occasion. When he
had any negative thoughts before a big dive when beginning his decent, he would say to the
voices or thoughts “Whatever you have to say, it’s irrelevant now – the dive has already been
decided long ago.” His unbelievable ability to relive himself of almost all his senses, to be
completely immune to any form of distraction while diving and to be detached from time and
completely present really is amazing. The human body can only handle so much, Trubridge
doing a 100+ m dive was pretty much all mental preparation. We see that in other sports that
require extreme levels of strength and inhuman physical prowess. I picked this book just as
something to mindlessly read for an assignment, but I really immersed myself into it and found
it quite unique and calming.
February 10, 2023
The absolute control Trubridge describes over his body is incredible. It's awe inspiring to see how much progress has been made in the sport of free diving in such a short amount of time. I particularly enjoyed reading about Trubridge's very measured and precise approach to free diving, including the calculations about water density due to temperature that led him to adding an extra 300g weight to make up for it, as well as his similar calculations on his bone density loss due to age. Just an absolutely incredible precision over his craft while somehow managing to maintain such control over his mind that the whole thing is an exercise in peacefulness.
January 19, 2020
A very interesting memoir about a record-breaking freediver. This book had so much interesting information however the memoir was very centred around only what William Trubridge did and not about anyone else surrounding him at different times in his life. I would recommend this book to anyone interested in freediving or the ocean, however, I did find that the way it had been written seemed a little self-absorbed sometimes.
December 27, 2025
I've been following William Trubridge for a while and I've watched lots of documentaries and videos of him freediving whilst he was actively competing. However only after completing a freediving course this winter did I realise the mental strength of freedivers! Super impressive physical feats too!
Interestingly written and the ups and downs are definitely portrayed well. I found the dives a bit superficially described and short but was a nice recount. Can definitely recommend this book!
Interestingly written and the ups and downs are definitely portrayed well. I found the dives a bit superficially described and short but was a nice recount. Can definitely recommend this book!
May 29, 2019
A very real, raw and honest account of William's life to date. At times I did find it moved slowly and took me a few weeks to finish reading as I found sections very thought-provoking. His understanding of mental states and the mind itself (mindfulness), in his sport is pretty incredible, much more descriptive and knowledgable than most Sporting biographies I've come across.
December 30, 2021
Great book!
This book brings unique insight into what goes on in the elite free diver’s mind before the WR attempt. Honestly described with many very personal references. An absolute must read for any aspiring competitor or recreational free diver / spear fishermen.
This book brings unique insight into what goes on in the elite free diver’s mind before the WR attempt. Honestly described with many very personal references. An absolute must read for any aspiring competitor or recreational free diver / spear fishermen.
November 29, 2022
a very good read
This was recommended by a friend and took me several years to get around to reading. While I know absolutely nothing about freediving as a sport, I’ve enjoyed this small insight. William has a talented, humble and honest way with words which is refreshing.
This was recommended by a friend and took me several years to get around to reading. While I know absolutely nothing about freediving as a sport, I’ve enjoyed this small insight. William has a talented, humble and honest way with words which is refreshing.
August 9, 2024
Interesting insight into the mental physical and surprisingly spiritual side of freediving.
Bonus points for being a Kiwi and extra bonus points for writing about growing up on the same tiny Caribbean island I currently live on.
Bonus points for being a Kiwi and extra bonus points for writing about growing up on the same tiny Caribbean island I currently live on.
February 14, 2019
Excellent
Interesting full of facts and brilliantly written. This book was a pleasure to read and takes you on a journey through the authors life.
Interesting full of facts and brilliantly written. This book was a pleasure to read and takes you on a journey through the authors life.
November 29, 2019
Great read about the challenges and success of freediving. Also very inspiring insights into spirituality and conservation of marine life.
January 20, 2020
Beautifully written, you can really feel all the emotions throughout his freediving journey.
November 11, 2020
Lost interest around halfway, skim read the rest. Interesting to find out more about freediving.
April 3, 2021
Great book
Thanks to author who has described me whole new world. Story about his journey is amazing. Really recommend and thanks again for the reading experience.
Thanks to author who has described me whole new world. Story about his journey is amazing. Really recommend and thanks again for the reading experience.
November 7, 2022
An interesting insight into the mind and world of a free diving champion.
July 25, 2023
made me fall in love (and awe) with free diving!
June 9, 2024
Great for any freedivers wanting to learn more about the history of the sport and about the experience of one of the world's best freedivers.
August 7, 2024
Wonderful. Every freediver should read this.
November 19, 2022
I really like the way the author shows his attitude towards training shifting, William mentions while he was a student at HNHS he didn't associate training with improving his ability in sport. As you can imagine, he was not a good sportsman. However William at the beginning of the book lays out his change of mindset, to one that did associate training with success. His training got to a point where he said “I would train and I would have patience, and when I was ready, when I knew that there could be no other outcome, then I would allow what was inevitable to have its day.” William trained so much that the chemical makeup of his body has changed to allow for sustained periods with lack of oxygen. This book makes you realise how the cliché idea of being able to do almost anything with a lot of work, actually isn't that far from the truth. But the point that I feel needs to be highlighted here is the way William changed his work ethic. Even in elements of today's schooling system would make you believe that your work ethic at school is all that counts to achieve your aspirations (career or otherwise). When in reality I believe that is far from the truth, at any point in your life you, if you set goals and work hard enough you can reach the heights of even your wildest aspirations.
Displaying 1 - 28 of 28 reviews