COMING SOON…
It’s Only Drowning:
A True Story of Learning to Surf and the Pursuit of Common Ground
After moving from Washington, DC, to the Jersey Shore, a former speechwriter for President Obama starts surfing at the age of thirty-five—the rough equivalent of beginning guitar lessons on your deathbed—and must turn for help to the only other surfer he knows: a tattooed, truck-driving, Joe Rogan super-fan who happens to be his brother-in-law.
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Advance Praise
“Reading It’s Only Drowning 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. 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