Floating: A Life Regained

In this thoughtful memoir, freelance journalist Minihane finds spiritual direction by following in the path of nature writer and environmentalist Roger Deakin and his 1996 book, Waterlog. In an effort to subdue his anxiety, Minihane taps into the healing power of waters by swimming in the sea and in rivers and streams throughout England. He observes that “you see and experience things when you’re swimming in a way that is completely different from any other.” Each of the book’s picturesque English locales make him more aware of the surroundings passing away with gentrification, the old making way for the new. Whereas Deakin’s book is a travelogue with a feel-good philosophy, Minihane’s saga of countless breaststrokes and front crawls becomes stagnant for him, until he is forced to seek professional help in a desperate effort to steady himself. He begins to tire of the swims, and his anxiety returns after each dip; but in time, that feeling subsides. Endlessly probing, Minihane’s lyrical chronicle of swimming therapy is his own attack on worry and self-loathing. (July)