Swimming Lessons: Life Lessons from the Pool, from Diving in to Treading Water

With Swimming Lessons, biographer Penelope Niven has proven that not only can she get at the heart of other people's stories but also that she herself is as interesting a subject as anyone she has written about--maybe more so. And as with her many other superb books, Swimming Lessons is written in her signature lyrical style but with the added personal bonus of her generous good humor. I have found myself repeatedly re-reading passages of it for the sheer beauty of the language or for the ready smile it brings to my soul. For example, Niven advises us to "Learn the constructive art of Checking Baggage." After listing the numerous kinds of bags she routinely takes on vacation, she says, "When I go swimming, I take my purse and a large swimming bag bursting with items I consider essential for preparing to swim, swimming, showering after swimming, and dressing to go home after swimming. I would not think of setting off on a trip or a swim without all my stuff. But I certainly would not think of carrying all my stuff every moment I am traveling or swimming. I load my luggage and shopping bags and cooler in the car. I lock my swimming gear in the locker in the dressing room."You don't have to carry all of your baggage all of the time. You can't. If you spend all your energy hauling the baggage around, you'll be too exhausted to move forward, or even to float. Check the baggage. Compartmentalize... I can't swim and, at the same time, carry my towel, my clothes, my shampoo, my hair dryer, and my car keys. I can't write with all my mind and heart and, at the same time, focus on my concerns about my parents' health; my daughter's grief over her father's death; my grief over his death; my brother's ongoing recovery from a stroke; my students' struggles to get into graduate school, get published, get jobs; and my world's struggle for peace, prosperity, justice, survival. When I write, I write...When I swim, I swim. I entrust the other endeavors of my life to the safety of the locker."Furthermore, it is Niven's so-called "overjubilance" that strikes a fresh chord in our discordant world, post 9-11. We should be so lucky that there is at least one among us who has the good sense to go overboard with her love and enthusiasm.Do something good for yourself. If you can't quit smoking, then at least read this book. You'll be overjubilant you did.