The Swimmer

A fresh twist on a triangular relationship.
A novel about compassion, generosity, love, selfishness, grief, bravery, and sacrifice.

“The Swimmer: a psychotherapist with end-stage cancer contemplates the end of her life and marriage and her failures as a mother, while saving the life of a beautiful swimmer grieving over the death of his husband. Egan’s story is for anyone contemplating the meaning of death, life, and everything in between: fear, regret, desire, hope, acceptance. A novel written with deep compassion and beautiful storytelling.”
—Lori Ostlund, author of After the Parade

“This captivating novel reflects the realities of life’s challenges and normalizes the conversation about end of life, illustrating a way to find peace with our own impermanence.”—J. Redwing Keyssar, RN, author of Last Acts of Kindness

Psychotherapist Bess Lynch makes a sojourn to Cape Cod to deal with her impending demise from pancreatic cancer. At the beach, she encounters an incandescently handsome man, who is mourning the loss of his husband to leukemia. They find solace in a tender affair until Bess’ son arrives and detonates the fragile calm. The dynamics between these three characters play out against Bess’ awareness that her cancer is metastasizing and her concerns about dying with independence and grace. With touches of magical realism, the novel rises above the somber subject into a lyrical elegy about kindness, love, and dignity.