Swimming with Ghosts A Novel
Swimming with Ghosts by Michelle Brafman, published by Turner Publishing Company on May 28, 2024, is a novel that explores the complexities of family relationships within the competitive world of children’s swimming. Set in June 2012, the story unfolds at the River Run swim club, where the seemingly lighthearted atmosphere is disrupted by the haunting presence of unresolved childhood traumas. As parents navigate their ambitions and friendships, they confront the ghosts of their pasts, revealing the darker undercurrents of addiction and personal struggle.
Readers will find a narrative that intertwines humor and poignancy, focusing on the lives of team moms Gillian Cloud and Kristy Weinstein as they grapple with their own issues amidst the pressures of competition. The arrival of a freak land hurricane serves as a catalyst for buried secrets to surface, forcing the characters to confront their shame and vulnerabilities. Swimming with Ghosts delves into themes of family life, friendship, and the impact of past traumas, offering a unique perspective on the challenges of overcoming hidden legacies. This edition spans 368 pages and is presented in English.
Official synopsis Publisher
From the acclaimed author of Washing the Dead and Bertrand Court comes a satirical and chilling, yet deeply-sensitive, tale that captures the ethos and ruin of children’s competitive swimming, where parents must face the haunting spirits of their own tumultuous upbringings or risk losing their way and–in turn–themselves.
It’s June 2012. The magical and slightly cultish River Run swim club is alive with the spirit of fun competition when a perfect storm brews between team moms and best friends, Gillian Cloud and Kristy Weinstein. The ghost of family addiction has turned up, looming over their carefully planned pasta parties, tie-dye nights, and pep rallies, forcing them to face their unresolved childhood trauma.
Gillian responds by trying to control everyone around her, while Kristy relapses into her dangerous addiction to love. Real sparks fly on the night of the derecho–a freak land hurricane–which sweeps through Northern Virginia, knocking out power for days. The storm ignites a tinder box of secrets, leaving Gillian and Kristy alone in the hot dark–their shame their only company.
At times humorous and devastating, Swimming with Ghosts is a hauntingly dark, yet uniquely tender story of the various entrapments of addiction and lingering trauma, and what it takes to overcome our hidden legacies of disgrace and discover a once unimaginable freedom made possible by confronting life’s greatest storms with the people closest to us.
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