A few other field notes, this one is spot on especially Shelby (poor girl). Field Note #61 – How each girl learned to swim: Martha took a class with her mom; Toni would sneak into her neighbor’s above-ground pool by night until she kind of just taught herself; Rachel and Nora had private lessons; Fatin’s grandparents had an infinity pool; Leah learned in Lake Tahoe at a family reunion; Dot went to the quarry; and Shelby’s dad threw her into the country club pool sink-or-swim style.

Aww, both Toni and Shelby. Their particular dynamic really is this clash of opposites so extreme they come around and meet on the other side. Is it better to have effectively no parents or ones that are so present they become controlling and scary? Trick question, neither is better, both suck. Which they’re now realizing, people who have what you thought you wanted can still be suffering. They have a lot more common than they might have expected.

Thanks for sharing these! They’re interesting and enlightening.