It’s time for the monthly virtual book club hosted by Wendy (Taking the long way home) . This month’s pick “Find A Way” by Diana Nyad.
In case you are not familiar with Diana Nyad, she is most well know for her epic swim from Cuba to the Florida Keys in 2013. After reading her book about her life and her surreal journey, she was quickly elevated to hero status in my mind. What an incredible story of determination, strength and courage.
Find A Way
Diana Nyad describes growing up in a physically and sexually abusive family with heartbreaking descriptions of childhood traumas. She is quick to add that she did not and does not want that to define her. She refused to be a victim and was always challenged to Find a Way.
She realized at a young age that she was destined to be a competitive long distance swimmer. In her twenties, she set a world record for swimming around Manhattan Island. This accomplishment brought her notoriety which encouraged her to try to swim from Cuba to Florida. She was forced to call it off after 42 hours and then took almost 30 years off of competitive swimming.
Diana realized that she wouldn’t be satisfied until she found a way to accomplish her life long dream to swim from Cuba to Florida. In her 60’s then, she set out to Find A Way to achieve her life long pursuit. I was blown away by how much planning and logistics goes into something this complex. One does not simply jump in and swim.
Aside from the political permits required, the weather obviously plays a major role in a swim like this. Diana had a team of navigators and meteorologists working to make sure she had the best possible conditions. Experts on nutrition and hydration were needed feeding schedules devised. Diana was required to eat and drink while in the water without holding onto the boats accompanying her.
Kayakers and shark divers were required to be in the water with her. It was very important to her to swim without a shark cage so the divers and kayakers were on the look out constantly to keep them away. She describes horrifying stings by jellyfish that rendered her temporarily paralyzed and sent her into anaphylactic shock. She was forced to abandon her swim due to the jellyfish the first time.
Determination
After 4 failed attempts, Diana Nyad was more determined than ever to find a way to reach her goal. She goes into detail about all the preparations and teams of people needed to achieve her swim. She stresses many times that this was a team effort. I have to admit I got a little teary reading the details of the final swim in which she made the 110 mile 52 hour swim from Cuba to Key West. I found myself rooting for her to swim on! It was quite amazing to learn all the details.
I loved reading about her determination, strength and grit as she fought through challenges I can not even imagine. I thought I was an endurance athlete until I read about her training. This woman is a true wonder woman! Find interviews with her here.
If you’d like to check out the book, you can find it on Amazon.
Next month’s book club pick is How Bad Do You Want It? (affiliate link)
Join in! Thanks Wendy for hosting!
Can you even imagine swimming 110 miles and 52 hours?
Also linked up with Nicole
Wasn’t it amazing? When I first heard about her feat, I thought, yeah, that’s great. But reading all that went into it made me realize that this was no ordinary achievement!
Thanks for linking up. What a great review!
No ordinary achievement at all! I will never say my swim workout was hard again. Love participating in the book club!
Oh man. I need to join this book club. Just read Wendy’s review too and now I’m dying to read this book. It would totally freak me out to have to swim with shark divers. I don’t know how some of the ladies in Florida do Triathlons with gators in the water. Ah I get chills just thinking about it. And jelly fish? No thank you! Sounds like a great read! Great review!
I know she is seriously one amazing woman! I am really enjoying the book club you should join in
I was in a book club a few years ago and LOVED it! I love reading and it really forced me to make the time to do it. Thinking I should join too 🙂
yes join it’s fun and yes it forces me to put down my phone at night and read. The next book looks great too!
Wow! That is some determination. I am not a swimmer but this book sounds really good.
It’s great and I think her passion and perseverance is interesting to any athlete.
I was also amazed by all the players involved–the flotilla– for each of her swims, and even her training. Incredible how all the moving parts worked together. This one was a great selection!
It was so interesting how many people were involved in helping her reach her goal. Amazing!
I would love to read this! I saw her speak a few years ago and am just in awe of her. She was hysterical, inspiring and just an overall incredible person. Thanks for sharing this review!
I really learned a lot from her about perseverance and chasing your dreams. Really incredible story
Oh wow! I’d never heard of Diana before. This sounds like an amazing journey. I’m going to have to add this to my list of books to read.
Oh wow I think you would love it her sheer will and determination is amazing to read about for any athlete.
This sounds like an incredible story. YOur last book recommendation did not disappoint so I’m sure I’ll be picking this one up too.
I really enjoyed it right from the start! She is one incredible lady
great review! she is such an inspiration!
She really is a superwoman and in her 60’s!
Wow! She’s amazing! 110 miles and 52 hours is crazy long!Sounds like a lot more than we know went into her swim. Thanks for the review! Another one to add to my list of books to read! 🙂
So much goes into a swim like that you would be amazed!
I LOVE her. I followed her story closely since I am in FL and a swimmer. She really defines never give up. Haven’t read the book yet so thank you for your insights.
Oh you have to! You will love it it’s really so much more than I knew about.
I can’t swim. Seriously… I doggie paddle. LOL! I was so impressed with this lady. I’m going to have to check out the book!
She is amazing and I think any athlete will appreciate her sheer will and determination.
Wow! That is an awe inspiring story!! Thank you for sharing the details! I didn’t know the whole story!
I did not know all the details either and I really enjoyed reading about her.
I remember reading about her. She is a true inspiration and I love that she never gave up. I’m adding this book to my list of must-reads! “Find a way.” Love it!
She is one really incredible woman for sure!
What an inspiring story! Regardless of the sport, its very easy to be motivated by an athlete’s determination and mindset to not give up.
Exactly! I think any athlete would find her determination and strength admirable.
I love swimming but oh my goodness that is so next level. How do I join this book club?!
Oh way next level! This book club was started by Wendy-you can find the link in my post to hers. She suggests the book each month and lets us know which day to post our review. It’s fun I hope you join!
sounds like an interesting read..will add on my list of books to read 🙂
I highly recommend it!
Amazing!!!
I never knew she came from an abusive home ;(
What an amazing story of determination and perseverance!!
I am just learning how to swim (I know how not to drown), so I CAN NOT imagine swimming 110 miles and 52 hrs!
I don’t think most of us can imagine swimming that length!
I can’t imagine swimming 10 miles in 52 hours. I am so not a swimmer. Her feat is amazing but this book seems HEAVY!
I wouldn’t say heavy per se but really fascinating
Read it and loved it. When we heard Diane speak last year at Blogfest the entire packed auditorium was silent. Listening to her tell her story. It was so cool.
Oh I bet it was incredible to hear her in person
this sounds like a lovely book! also, what’s this about gators in the water?!?!?!
It was sharks and jelly fish that were her worry not so much gators.
What an epic journey! I remember watching it on GMA when I was working at the station. I bet the book is great.
She is one incredible woman for sure!
Sounds like an amazing story of overcoming adversity and the determination of one amazing woman.
I was truly blown away by her strength she really is incredible
Wow, what an accomplishment. I am not a big fan of non fiction but I can understand why this would be fascinating.
It’s a great read for sure!
What an inspiring story! This sounds like a great book!
I think you would enjoy it a lot she is pretty amazing
I remember hearing about her in the news. I would never had guessed all that it would take to pull off a swing like this. What an inspiring story.
It’s such an interesting story! She is amazing