"For anyone who's been told that trauma is a chance for growth, or that wounds are where the light comes in, Virginia Eubanks has written a scorching reply to the ‘exhausting bullshit’ foisted on caregivers. A furiously honest, beautiful, and riveting story about how she managed to stay sane, solvent, and loving. I read it into the night." —Larissa MacFarquhar, author of Strangers Drowning

“Some writers you admire, some you love. With Virginia Eubanks it’s both—for her tenacity, her noble curiosity, her big, honest heart, and her capacity for laughter as she pursues help for another’s calamity, which becomes her own. Her way out is open water, the coldest element in which to test one’s capacity to save oneself. In the bargain, she rescues us.” —Roger Rosenblatt, author of Cold Moon and The Story I Am

“What does it feel like to be a caregiver to a person who has experienced trauma? In this book, Virginia Eubanks breaks new ground, rigorously reporting on her own experience with a kind of PTSD shared by millions of Americans, exposing how so many are left in the lurch with this condition—societally, medically and economically. Darkly illuminating, this is also a true pleasure to read, as is its stirring story of later-life transformation and outdoor adventure. This is a book that encourages: despite being an inveterate urbanite, it made me plan to go kayaking on my own. I'm sure many other readers will be made more brave by it as well.” —Alissa Quart, author of Bootstrapped and Squeezed and executive director of the Economic Hardship Reporting Project

“A Guide to Open Water Lifesaving is a remarkable story of how to escape the trauma and sorrow of the present by cultivating experiences that change who you can become in the future.” —Lisa Feldman Barrett, author of How Emotions are Made

“In its prose, research, and insights, A Guide to Open Water Lifesaving surprises, excoriates, and delights, even while it lays bare the enormous challenges of caregiving and self-care. As I followed Virginia Eubanks on this journey of healing, I found new ideas on how to live; reading this brilliant book may just give you the tools and hope you need for your own survival.” —Emily Maloney, author of Cost of Living

“In her breathtaking and important new book, Virginia Eubanks shows, with focused rage, that caregivers are paying the price for multiple systems failures. Caregivers deserve better choices, she argues, than martyrdom or abandoning those they love to save themselves.” —Brigid Schulte, author of Over Work

“Virginia Eubanks jumps into the deep end with kin caregivers and our attempts to show our loved ones that we’re present and capable. But don’t worry—this book doubles as a flotation device, held buoyant through her writing, authority, and humility. A Guide to Open Water Lifesaving is an enveloping, spell-casting memoir for anyone curious about how to navigate the strange wilderness of caregiving and not only survive, but thrive.” —Nicholas Triolo, author of The Way Around