Lifeguarding

“A beautiful book in every way. Written with grace and gentle confidence . . . the sentences are captivating, the real-life characters surprise us with their turnabouts, and the ongoing metaphor of swimming in dangerous waters arises naturally from the landscape of a childhood spent swimming—and watching the unlucky innocent drown.” —Philip Gerard, author of Cape Fear Rising

“A wise and beautiful book. The writing is graceful, searching, and aware. I finished Lifeguarding feeling grateful and admiring of its power. Catherine McCall is a mandatory voice.” —Brad Land, author of Goat

“Lyrical, funny, and heartbreaking by turns, Lifeguarding is a light shined into a dark room. . . . This is the story of the American Every Family swallowing its own secrets.” —Sarah Messer, author of Red House

“Lifeguarding is a tender and gentle exploration of one girl’s journey of healing . . . Serves to remind us that confronting our fears, that blind underwater struggle, is always worth the effort.” —Virginia Holman, author of Rescuing Patty Hearst

“There is, in every well-examined life, a turning point—a time when propriety yields to honesty and fear gives way to courage. This is Catherine McCall’s story, beautifully told, tenderly recollected.” —Beth Kephart, author of Ghosts in the Garden

“If you read only one book a year–here it is.” —Clyde Edgerton, author of Lunch at the Piccadilly