New Lynne Cox book - "Swimming in the Sink"
Just noticed a new Lynne Cox book will be published in September. (Preorder on Amazon)
From an inspired and inspiring open water swimmer, a supreme athlete who swims without a wetsuit, able to endure cold water temperatures that would kill others, author of Swimming to Antarctica ("Riveting"--Sports Illustrated), Grayson ("Moving, mystical" --People), and Open Water Swimming Manual ("Exceptional" --The Independent)--a powerful book about super athleticism and human frailty, about invincibility and the sudden (mind-altering) repercussions of illness, and about the triumph of spirit, surrender, and love against it all.
Lynne Cox was a super athlete who broke many world records, among them swimming the English Channel at 15, being the first woman to swim across Cook Strait (15.2 miles) between the North and South Islands of New Zealand, and the first to swim off Antarctica in 32-degree water--for 25 minutes!--all without a wetsuit. And that's where Swimming in the Sink begins--at a laboratory at the University of London, with Cox's hand in cold water, hooked up to thermocouples and probes, with three scientists trying to make sense of her extraordinary human capabilities of athleticism. The test results paved the way for new medical and life-saving practices. As an athlete, Cox had put her heart into everything she'd ever accomplished. In turn her heart gave her great physical strength and endurance.
In the midst of becoming the embodiment of a supreme endurance athlete, Cox had taken care of her elderly parents, both of whom passed away in quick succession followed by the death of her beloved Labrador retriever, leaving Lynne in shock from loss and loneliness and soon, literally, suffering from the debilitating effects of a broken heart.
On the edge of a precipice, Cox was diagnosed with atrial fibrillation (Afib). As the prognosis went from bad to worse, Cox was in fear of living out a lesser life as an invalid with a pacemaker, hooked up to a defibrillator . . . for the first time, the very real possibility of her own death was before her.
Cox writes of her full surrender to her increasing physical frailty, to her illness, her treatment, her slow pull toward recovery. In Swimming in the Sink we see her finding her way, writing about her transformative journey that led her away from her illlness back toward health, and slowly making her way toward the one aspect of her life that meant everything to her--freedom; mastery; transcendence--back to open waters, and the surprise that she never saw coming: falling in love.
Comments
:x
Meeting Lynne a couple of years ago was a highlight of my swimming life.
It's always a bad hair day when you work at a pool.
One of the most gracious, unassuming, smiley, HELPFUL,kind, thoughtful, charming people in the world.
I met Lynne a couple of years ago at a triathlon store in VA. Nicest person ever! I was between a very difficult 10K DNF and Swim the Suck, and she gave me such a nice pep talk that I'll never forget. She is just so genuinely nice, I couldn't get over how humble she was, for being such an all-star.
Years later, her friends (doctors on her Antarctica swim) came here to Kyrgyzstan (of all places) and she didn't hesitate to tell them about me. Her friends are just as nice! They were way more interested in my measly little 8.5 mile swim I got planned for next month than they should have been, seeing how they worked with a true world-class swimmer like @Lynne.
Her Open Water Swimming Manual, with her autograph, will remain a treasured book in my library.
We're all just carbon, water, starlight, oxygen and dreams
Um, you tagged me @IronMike, not the real Lynne.
Oh crap, sorry. Is "the real Lynne" not a member here?
I'm sure you're just as nice, @Lynne.
We're all just carbon, water, starlight, oxygen and dreams
grin I'd love to see Ms. Cox' response at being known as "The Real Lynne."
I'm just a second rate generic
Naw, it's like being a Viking and named Thorsson or something. It's an honor.
For pretty much my entire adult life (starting at about age 20), I've had the occasional "Oh, you're not the real Mike Tyson" comment thrown my way. It used to piss me off ("My parents sure think I'm real!"), but now I just blow it off.
Now if I can get people to stop asking me what I did to get rid of the face tattoo. L-)
We're all just carbon, water, starlight, oxygen and dreams
Wait, you're not THE Mike Tyson?!? My mental image of you is totally blown.
PS- I like your new cartoon on the Comedy Channel.
Have you tried: "Comments like that make me want to bite someone's ear off?" ;-)
No. Had enough of those ear comments or people covering their ears. Thankfully that's mostly stopped.
We're all just carbon, water, starlight, oxygen and dreams
I enjoyed her Swimming to Antarctica book so much. Enjoyed the writing and the description of the swims. It's incredible how she remembers so many details. As an aside, Diana Nyad's book was a bit harder for me to read for some reason, maybe because of how it was written. I got a chance to meet Lynn at the Alcatraz swim that South End puts on 2 years ago. I couldn't say much more than just "hi" as I was so star struck!