SWIMMING FOR SUNLIGHT
“I loved every page of this beautiful, heartfelt book. Full of compassion, warmth, and charm, Larkin makes a complex story about anxiety and loss and female friendships at all ages feel both effortless and hopeful. I dare you not to hug this book when you finish.”
—Julie Buxbaum, New York Times bestselling author of Tell Me Three Things and What to Say Next
“I instantly fell in love with this narrator—who’s brave, funny, feisty, tender, and, most of all, relatable. She handles a seismic change in her life with rapier-sharp humor and grace, proving that life’s curveballs can be processed with love and laughter—and the often-underestimated power of the companionship and loyalty of animals. Katie’s next chapter in life takes us on a wild water park ride, addressing losses in her past, the surfacing of a college flame, and a grandmother you’ll wish was your own. Add to this Larkin’s descriptive writing—which sparkles on the page—and you have a gem of a novel.”
—Lolly Winston, New York Times bestselling author of Good Grief and Happiness Sold Separately
“Allie Larkin knows her characters so well—and loves them so much. Reading Swimming for Sunlight is like visiting a real place, spending time with a real and really good friend.”
—Rainbow Rowell, #1 New York Times bestselling author of Eleanor & Park
“Simply put, we are all Katie Ellis, the narrator of this wonderful book. That’s the power of Swimming for Sunlight by Allie Larkin. We’ve been down. We’ve been hurt. We’ve had our lives flipped upside down. But, somehow, with the help of the people who matter most, we’ve come back stronger. It’s funny, quirky, and as bighearted as a rescue dog. I was all in from page one.”
—Matthew Norman, author of We’re All Damaged and Domestic Violets
“Sweet, tender, and real, Allie Larkin’s work is funny, endearing, and simply lovely time and time again.”
—Taylor Jenkins Reid, author of The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo and Daisy Jones & The Six
“Populated by vivid characters that include aging ‘mermaids’ and a companion dog so endearing that I, a cat person, was tempted to go find my own Barkimedes, Swimming for Sunlight is a rare thing: an intelligent, compassionate, entertaining tale that satisfies both the heart and the head. I loved this book and everyone in it!”
—Therese Anne Fowler, New York Times bestselling author of A Well-Behaved Woman and Z: A Novel of Zelda Fitzgerald
“In Swimming for Sunlight, Allie Larkin has written an absorbing, insightful tale of all the people and places in which we find strength. She’s created a world I’d love to live in, full of vividly rendered characters who are as complex and resilient as they are bighearted and funny. There is nothing like a great story, well told; this is Larkin’s specific expertise.”
—Caroline Angell, author of All the Time in the World
“A thoughtful, tender story about losing everything and starting all over again, Swimming for Sunlight reminds us of the joy that comes when we open our hearts to unexpected friendships. I fell in love with Allie Larkin’s quirky and endearing characters and found myself thinking about them long after I turned the last page.”
—Ann Mah, author of The Lost Vintage
“Poignant and funny, touching and eccentric, Swimming for Sunlight is brimming with heart. A gem of a novel that will charm not only dog lovers, but anyone, anywhere who’s ever felt a twinge of anxiety. In other words, all of us.”
—Tish Cohen, author of Inside Out Girl and Town House
“A heartfelt and bittersweet ode to taking the long view of life when we fall short of our own expectations, to choosing courage and hope in the face of disappointment and tragedy. This book was just what my soul needed.”
—Julia Whelan, author of My Oxford Year