Mollie Hughes has explored some of the wildest environments on earth, from the top of Mount Everest to the vast frozen continent of Antarctica, where at the age of 29 she skied solo from Hercules Inlet to the South Pole in a journey of over 700 miles through storm-force winds, eight-day whiteouts and temperatures as low as minus 45 degrees Celsius. With reference to her all-extreme experiences, and backed with psychological research,

Breathe encompasses tales of bravery, risk and pressure on an epic scale and expertly turns them into valuable lessons that can be applied to more everyday challenges. In doing so, Mollie shows how we can unlock our potential, regulate emotion, overcome fear, cope with psychological pressure and understand the importance of silence and headspace in our mental wellbeing.

Prizes

Short-listed for Boardman Tasker Award for Mountain Literature 2025

'Both achingly poignant and laugh-out-loud funny... the book is both a memoir and a series of essays on different areas of psychology'

'With insights from other explorers, this book delves into tales of risk, pressure and courage to provide valuable lessons to tackle everyday challenges . . . ultimately offering a key that could unlock potential, regulate emotion, manage psychological pressure and overcome fear'

'Mollie's positive mindset is infectious – if there is something you’d like to achieve, consume each lesson in this book and they will take you one step closer'

'Mollie's achievements are an inspiration. There is so much pressure to achieve, so many mental barriers to overcome in sport and adventure. The tools she shares here are brilliant in helping us to chase our doubts away'

'Mollie has channeled everything she learned at the extreme edge of survival into her new book Breathe'

'Breathe offers more than inspiring anecdotes. It provides a toolkit and is a really nice balance of personal story, scientific study and practical lesson'

In 2017, Mollie Hughes broke the world record for becoming the youngest woman to climb both sides of Mount Everest and in 2020 she became the youngest woman to ski solo to the South Pole. In December 2020 she was the first woman to become president of Scouts Scotland.