Swimming with Maya

Previously available only in hardcover Swimming with Maya demonstrates the remarkable process of healing after the traumatic death of a loved one. Eleanor Vincent raised her two daughters Maya and Meghan virtually as a single-parent. Maya the eldest was a high-spirited and gifted young woman. As a toddler Maya was an angelic tow-head full of life and curiosity. As a teenager Maya was energetic and independent - and often butted heads with her mother. But Eleanor and Maya were always close and connected like best friends or sisters but always also mother and daughter. Then at age 19 Maya mounts a horse bareback as a dare and in a crushing cantilever fall is left in a coma from which she will never recover. Eleanors life is turned upside down as she struggles to make the painful decision about Mayas fate. Ultimately Eleanor chooses to donate Mayas organs. Years later she is able to hear Mayas heart beat in the chest of the heart recipient. Along the way Eleanor re-examines her relationship with her daughter as well as Eleanors traumatic life as a child and young woman. In a story that has been called heartbreaking and heart-healing Eleanor Vincent illuminates the kind of courage creativity faith and sheer tenacity it takes to find ones balance after unthinkable tragedy. Praise for Swimming with Maya: Vincents poignant decision to donate Mayas organs will resonate with even hard-boiled readers. Booklist Powerful prose with a meaningful and memorable message. Lee Gutkind Founder Creative Nonfiction Magazine An important addition to the literature of loss and restoration. Maxine Kumin Pulitzer Prize-winning poet and author of Inside the Halo and Beyond: The Anatomy of a Recovery Heartbreaking and heart healing this compelling story of surviving the death of a child will stay with you long after youve closed the book. Ellen Bass author of The Courage to Heal and The Human Line Every reader who has had to deal with traumatic loss will ?nd wisdom and healing in these brave pages. Chana Bloch author of Mrs. Dumpty and Blood Honey Riveting poignant and utterly honest... It shows that one can recover from the loss of a child. Judy Tatelbaum author of The Courage to Grieve Eleanor Vincent chronicles her grief and the healing that came with helping others. Carol Lin CNN Blows the reader away with its clarity its unstinting honesty and the searing accuracy of its vision of the medical and emotional complexity surrounding the tragic death of a young woman. Highly recommended. John Ruark MD FACP author of Dying Digni?ed Thoughtful honest and beautifully written... a fabulous story about what it means to be a mother. Wendy Lichtman author of Blew and the Death of the Mag and Secrets Lies and Algebra Life trumps death in this beautiful memoir. Linda Joy Myers author of Dont Call Me Mother-A Daughters Journey from Abandonment to Forgiveness and Power of Memoir