
It's Only Drowning
A True Story of Learning to Surf and the Search for Common Ground
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Narrated by:
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David Litt
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By:
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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.
David, the Yale-educated writer with a fear of sharks, and Matt, the daredevil electrician with a shed full of surfboards, had never been close. But as America’s crises piled up and David spiraled into existential dread, he noticed that his brother-in-law was thriving. He began to suspect Matt’s favorite hobby had something to do with it.
David started taking surf lessons. For months, he wiped out on waves the height of daffodils. Yet, after realizing that surfing could change him both in and out of the water, he set an audacious goal: riding a big wave in Hawaii. He searched for an expert he could trust to guide and protect him—and when he couldn’t find one, he asked Matt. Together, they set out on a journey that spanned coasts, and even continents, before taking them to Oahu’s famously dangerous North Shore.
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.
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Critic reviews
* A NATIONAL BESTSELLER * GOODREADS MOST ANTICIPATED BOOK OF SUMMER 2025 * TOWN & COUNTRY BEST BOOK OF SUMMER 2025 *
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Great for our divided time
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At best the author learns to tolerate his blue collar brother-in-law with very little curiosity and to the end presents him as a one dimensional frozen pizza eating character who is more human than the author anticipated.
Time to go deeper. More work is needed.
Timid. Nice summer read but …
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Moving by moving
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It’s pretty great
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I can relate
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Tiny arrows hit bullseyes
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maybe there will be a sequel.
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