While on what I thought would be a routine assignment to Long Island, Bahamas, covering a top competition in a niche adventure sport for the New York Times, fate turned when Nick Mevoli died, and the scope of both that assignment and my interest in the athletes and the art of competitive freediving changed forever. This book is the result, and it would have never happened without the inspiration and collaboration of photographer Lia Barrett, or the interest, faith, and responsiveness of Jason Stallman, Tom Connelly, Sam Dolnick, Becky Lebowitz, and Jim Luttrell at the New York Times sports desk, as well as fellow reporters John Branch, Mary Pilon, and William Broad.

I would also like to thank my friend and agent Byrd Leavell and the wonderful Julianna Wojcik at Waxman Leavell as well as Nathan Roberson, my editor at Crown, who believed in this book from the beginning and saw what it could become before I did.

Of course, there would be no book at all without the patient collaboration of so many generous people. For over a year, they shared memories—painful, beautiful, and hilarious—and pushed me to do my best work. If you’ve read the book, you already know who they are and I won’t list them all here, but I would like to especially thank Nick’s family. They were partners in this book from the beginning and for that I am forever grateful. So thank you, Jen, Joe, Elizabeth and Alexandra, Belinda, Fred, Kristine and Katie, Larry, and Terri, Ashley, David, and Paul. I’d also like to thank Nancy and the late Josie Owsianik, Nick’s grandmother, who passed away just fourteen months after Nick. It was a joy to meet you and watch your last dance.

Nick’s nonfreediving friends were just as generous. Thanks especially to Justin Pogge, Aaron and Katie Suko, Soliman Lawrence, and Clayton Rychlik from the Tally Vegan crew; Esther Bell, Morgan Sabia, Yasunari Rowan, Denny Kowska, and Akia Squitieri in New York City; Jessica Mammerella and Jennifer Kates in Philly, and Jana Turcinkova and Roman Susil in Czech Republic.

I’m also grateful to the many dozens of competitive freedivers, judges, safety divers, pioneers, innovators, and AIDA board members who shared their stories and opinions with me, but special thanks goes out to my most staunch allies from the freediving realm: Meir Taub, Ashley and Ren Chapman, Kerry Hollowell and Steve Benson, Mike Board and Kate Middleton, Yaron Hoory, Bobby Kim, Marco Consentino, Goran Colak, Alexey Molchanov, the late Natalia Molchanova, Carlos Coste and Gaby Contreras, Lena Jovanovic, Marina Kazankova, Mandy Sumner, Kyle Gion, Carla Hanson, Grant Graves, Beatrix and Ricardo Paris, Tomoka Fukuda, Hanako Hirose, Misuzu Okamoto, Tetsuo Hara, Sofia Gómez Uribe, Iru Balic, Kirk Krack and Mandy Cruickshank, Francesca Koh Owings, and William Trubridge. Big respect also to Daan Verhoeven who was shooting both stills and video the day Nick passed. With a tragedy unfolding, Daan let his camera roll and thanks to him there is a video record of everything that happened. I relied on it heavily throughout my research and showed it to dozens of doctors—including the generous and thoughtful Larry Stock and Ashraf Elsayegh. Without it, Nick’s cause of death may have remained a mystery, and a family left wanting for closure.

I also have my own friends and family to thank. First I should thank my mother and father, Trude and Richard Skolnick for raising and believing in me and for offering their lovely home in La Quinta as a valuable retreat as deadline day loomed. Thanks to Heather Barbod for making time for me whenever I came through the city and for sending me on the road with a sweet, shining totem in my pocket. Massive thanks to Paul Feinstein. Trapped beneath a bloated, unwieldy first draft, with a week to go before d-day, Paul parachuted in and together we found, shaped, and polished what I hope is a beautiful book. He helped shape several drafts after that one too. In addition to his editorial wizardry, he was a confidant and counselor from the beginning of this project to the end. I could not hope to have a better friend. Speaking of amazing friends, thank you Liz Gilbert and Kelton Reid. Liz has been a mentor to me since we met all those years ago and Kelton has been a partner and brother in our quest to make a living as writers from day one. Both read early drafts of the book and their guidance and support has been legendary.

Then there’s John Moore, my defacto patron, ace deuce rival, and enabler of my drifter tendencies. Ever since the week after Nick passed away, I have been a nomad, roaming the globe in search of freedivers and those with insights into his past. Often I’d come through Los Angeles and John’s door and his guestroom were always open and available to me. I wrote a book proposal and most of this book in his beautiful home. But even before that, John gave me the greatest gift of all. He encouraged me to take up open-water swimming, which he’s been doing religiously with our friend Jacklynn Evans for more than a decade. Swimming in the deep blue Pacific with John and Jack, I have encountered and enjoyed swarms of sea lions and pods of dolphins, many whales and seals and thousands of fish. There is nothing I love to do more, and it’s because I need it and have become so passionate about it that I understand better than most why freedivers must do what they do. I doubt I can ever repay him. Thank you doesn’t begin to cover it.

Finally, I’d like to thank Nicholas Mevoli. I knew him for less than a week of his life, but that was enough to get that he was one special dude. I just didn’t understand how special until I got to know him through those he left behind and through his own words. He wasn’t perfect, but he possessed an uncommon generosity of spirit and time. His heart was big, his soul was real, and his actions backed it all up. I wish he could have found more peace on this sweet earth, but I know he found more than his share of joy, love, and adventure, and moments of solace and serenity too. Nick Mevoli lived! For others and himself. His is an example I intend to follow. I hope others will too.