Swimming in the Sink: A Memoir

In this stunning memoir of life after loss, the open-water swimming legend and bestselling author tells of facing the one challenge that no amount of training could prepare her for.

A celebrated athlete who set swimming records around the world, Lynne Cox achieved astonishing feats of strength and endurance. She was the first to swim the frigid waters of the Bering Strait, the Strait of Magellan, and the coast of Antarctica, and she was the fastest to swim the English Channel. But it is a different kind of struggle that pushes her to the brink. In a short period of time, Lynne loses her father, and then her mother, and then Cody, her beloved Labrador retriever. Soon after, Lynne herself is diagnosed with a life-threatening heart condition that leaves her unable to swim and barely able to walk.

But against all odds, and with the support of her friends and family, Lynne begins the slow pull toward recovery, reaching always for the open waters that give her the freedom and mastery that mean everything to her. What follows is a beautifully poignant meditation on loss and an exhilarating celebration of life as, to Lynne's surprise, she begins to find, within the unfamiliar space of vulnerability, the greatest treasures--like falling in love.


About the Author
LYNNE COX has held open-water swimming records all over the world, including two for the fastest crossing of the English Channel. She is best known for her swim across the Bering Strait from the United States to the Soviet Union on August 7, 1987. Cox has been inducted into the International Swimming Hall of Fame and has completed more than sixty challenging swims around the world. Her articles have appeared in many publications, among them The New Yorker, The New York Times, and the Los Angeles Times Magazine. She lives in Long Beach, California.

www.lynnecox.com