Swimming with Maya: A Mother's Story

In one respect, "Swimming" is about organ donation, but that feature of the story would not be as meaningful without all of the back story of the people involved, particularly the mother and daughter at the heart of the story, and especially Ms. Vincent. The back story is related with such searing honesty and absence of sentimentality, that I could not put the book down. Eleanor Vincent leaves no question in the reader's mind about WHO made that decision to donate her daughter's organs. It is a heroic gesture under any circumstances. But it also made human through the understanding we are given of the nature of the relationship between this mother and daughter, their history, and the place they had come to in their lives. I cried in several places, not because of the obvious sadness of the story, but because the writing unsettled with its "realness." I came away from this book feeling that I had been allowed to take a long, moving look into the personal mythology of another human being, with its many radiances and confused shadings. Memoir always offers the possibility of that, but doesn't always deliver. Ms. Vincent delivers.

This is an amazing book about a topic that I normally would not want to read about ---the loss of a child. But Vincent's writing is so compelling that the extraordinary circumstances are made not only real, but riveting.

my mother was the recipient of maya's liver. without this wonderful woman's brave desicion i wouldn't have a mother today. i recommend this book to anyone who wants to learn how the desicion to donate organs can truly affect every aspect of numerous people's lives. thank you Mrs. Vincent.

This compelling book will touch every mother's heart. Eleanor Vincent's biographical novel, Swimming with Maya, sweeps the reader beyond trauma--to the drama of self discovery. Ms. Vincent forges her own balance from the crucible of a parent's most devastating and most joyful experiences. She shows us that meaning can be mined from shocking loss. Her book kindles the conviction that love can heal. I couldn't put it down.

A friend of mine told me about this book - I probably wouldn't have picked it up on my own, I'm more inclined toward the "Master and Commander" approach - and I loved it. It's a thoughtful, moving, un-put-downable memoir that says a lot about parenthood and the human spirit.