When Anne Edelstein was forty-two, her mother, a capable swimmer in good health, drowned while snorkeling in the Great Barrier Reef. Caring for two children of her own, Anne suddenly found herself grieving not only for her emotionally distant mother but also for her beloved younger brother Danny, who'd killed himself violently years before-and wrestling with the past and her family's legacy of mental illness as well as the emotional well-being of her children. Part memoir and part meditation on joy and grief, Lifesaving for Beginners will resonate with anyone who's struggled to come to terms with their family and their place in the world.
