COMING JUNE 24th: IT’S ONLY DROWNING
The new memoir from New York Times bestselling author David Litt
A former Obama speechwriter moves to the Jersey Shore and learns to surf with the help of his brother-in-law: a tattooed, truck-driving Joe Rogan superfan.
It’s Only Drowning is a laugh-out-loud love letter to surfing—and so much more. It’s an ode to embarking on adventures at any age. It’s a blueprint for becoming braver at a time when it takes courage just to read the news. Most of all, it’s the story of an unlikely friendship, one that crosses the fault lines of education, ideology, and culture tearing so many of us apart.
“Hilarious.” - Judd Apatow
“Funny and wise and needed for our time on more levels than I can describe.” - Cynthia McFadden, Peabody-award winning journalist
“Feels like those early mornings paddling out into an unpredictable swell. You don’t know what’s coming, but you feel alive just being out there.” - Laird Hamilton, legendary big-wave surfer
PRE-ORDER IT’S ONLY DROWNING AND WIN A ONE-OF-A-KIND SURFBOARD DESIGNED BY RYAN LOVELACE, WITH ART INSPIRED BY THE COVER!
1) Pre-order a hardcover copy from AMAZON, BARNES & NOBLE, or your local independent bookstore via BOOKSHOP.ORG
2) Fill out this ENTRY FORM
3) That’s it! You’ll be automatically entered for the drawing on June 23rd.
(You can learn more about the surfboard model - a 7’6” Lovelace ThickLizzy - here. And more about Glide Surf Company, which glassed the board in Asbury Park, NJ, here. Good luck!)
More Advance Praise for It’s Only Drowning
“David’s book is not just a surfing memoir—it’s about the connections that keep us going.”
— Laird Hamilton, legendary big-wave surfer and author of Force of Nature
“David Litt has written a surfing memoir that’s about so much more than surfing. It’s an insightful, hilarious, surprisingly moving story about the nature of friendship and the search for common ground, and I loved it.”
— Judd Apatow, New York Times bestselling author of Sick in the Head
— Ilana Glazer, co-creator of Broad City
“It’s Only Drowning is captivating and engaging, witty and funny, and the deeper issues it raises—about living with uncertainty, the importance of stepping outside one’s comfort zone, and the value in spending time with those who see the world differently— stuck with me long after I put it down. This book is easy to read and hard to forget.”
— Robert Rubin, former U.S. Treasury Secretary and New York Times bestselling author of In an Uncertain World
“It’s Only Drowning is delightful and an instant classic. David Litt has given us a coming-of-age story in the best sense—about a person, a passion, a friendship, and a moment in history. And the book is wickedly funny from beginning to end.”
— James Fallows, New York Times bestselling author of Our Towns
“I will be honest— I did not intend to read beyond the first chapter of this book. New Jersey? Surfing? Crazy brother-in-law? Come on! How wrong I was. One chapter led to the next which led to me setting my alarm for 5 a.m. so I could get up early and finish It’s Only Drowning, which is funny and wise and needed for our time on more levels than I can describe. Everybody should read this book which is, in the end, a treatise on humans and humanity.”
— Cynthia McFadden, Peabody Award-winning investigative journalist