Learning to Swim: A Novel
When her estranged mom Ida, a chain-smoking former Olympian swimmer, has a health scare, Gabrielle hits the reset button on her life with her teenage daughter Juniper in tow. Told from multiple points of view, Learning to Swim is about the complex relationships between mothers and daughters and the many complicated phases of womanhood. Themes include the "sandwich generation", coming of age, aging, divorce, grief and loss and more.
Bio
Shayla Dugan is an Arizona native and received both her Bachelor's (1999) and Master's (2005) of Social Work from Arizona State University. After many years of working in the areas of grief and loss, she decided to leave social work and pursue her writing dreams. Learning to Swim: A Novel is her fiction debut.
Praise for this book
..a poignant novel about the sacrifices and triumphs of being a mother and a child as well as the strength of female bonds...
Jan, Reviewer NetGalley
This book had me holding up an entire grocery line because I was so engrossed I momentarily forgot my surroundings. Did I mention I cried in the doctor’s office too? The characters will grab your heart and take hold. This book is a raw, hysterical look into the ties of family and proof that no matter your age, it’s never too late to find yourself.
Kristen Bahls Where I Left Off Podcast
