A review by morningtide
Why We Swim by Bonnie Tsui

informative inspiring reflective slow-paced

5.0

 There it is again: the ideal of amphibiousness, described as a desirable state for, well, everyone the world over. 

This is just one of those books where I feel like it was written exactly for me - right in the beginning I can tell me and the author are on the same wavelength and from there on out I'm gonna love everything and be a little biased probably. There is a mix of history with memoir-like moments, and while it's not linear in any way, I am personally a fan of this type of nonfiction style - I like to find a little bit of emotional attachment to the information and I will find it even more compelling and memorable.

Tsui starts the book by talking about her childhood at Long Island beaches which is exactly where my own love for the water started, geographically and emotionally. There is a specific moment where she talks about, as a child, being knocked under by a wave and losing direction - struggling just long enough to be short on air until she's kicked in the head by her cousin and finds her way up. How time stretched and restarted.

Embarrassed and gasping, I looked around. When I realized that no one had noticed I was in trouble, I pretended I never was. And I turned right back into the sea.

What could bring on this voluntary amnesia? What did I find so alluring about the water that I could forgive a murder attempt by the sea, and so quickly at that?

This was a particular thrill I sought as a kid - and a few days within starting this book I found again at the same beaches as an adult and felt exactly the same about it. I think I could have come out of this book happy I read it with just the feelings in this moment: the awe, fear, mystery and respect for the sea all at once, and knowing I shared this experience with someone. Making this connection with the author honestly just made me want to hear all her other thoughts and experiences and knowledge about the subject.