Swimming Naked: A Novel

by Stacy Sims

Despite a lifetime of ambivalence about her mother, Fay, thirty-year-old Lucy Greene arrives in overheated Florida to take care of her mother as she lies dying of cancer. In this novel about growth and transformation, Lucy, a hard-living, droll, and self-aware young woman, finds herself in strange, new emotional territory and begins sizing up her life by setting the past against the present.

She shares the story of her family’s history—including the stunning signature events of one fateful summer when a violent storm results in a freak accident that literally shatters her family. Afterward, the father seemingly disappears and the mother and her daughters move forward on a very different course. It is Lucy’s one treasured memory—a midnight swim with her mother—that reminds her there is grace in her graceless world, a fact that helps her to forgive her mother and, ultimately, let her go.

Uplifting but unsentimental, compelling and remarkably moving, Swimming Naked is an unforgettable debut that will resonate with daughters, mothers, and anyone who’s ever searched their past in the hopes of finding a future.

Genres: Fiction

256 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2004

Reviews

[Shasta bondarev · Rating 5 out of 5]

My mom, dying of pancreatic cancer, gave me this book in 2008 and told me it reminded her of us. The first time I read it, I didn’t see it. I thought maybe she was just sensationalizing it because she was dying and everything was profound. Fourteen years later in a fit of boredom, I picked it up and decided to try again.

I think I understand now.

[Jackie Henry · Rating 2 out of 5]

Confusing and boring

The story was touching but I had a hard time following at times. One minute she was in present time and the next would be 15 years earlier. I scrolled
Back and forth a number of times trying to figure out where the story was going.

[Shelly Millan · Rating 3 out of 5]

I enjoyed the writing style. I could easily envision what was happening in every scene; I felt like I was there. However, the way the chapters change years was often very confusing. It would have been much easier to follow if the chapters were labeled with a year instead of a chapter number.

[Dawn]

Didn't finish. I found it un engaging and whiny.

[Brittany · Rating 3 out of 5]

It was goodish, just entirely too slow.

[Karen · Rating 3 out of 5]

Quite the dysfunctional family.

[Amber · Rating 4 out of 5]

A really smooth and easy read for the summer. Easily relatible for an odd home life. Stacy Sims delivered for something witty and touching

[Ryan Fiedler · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book captured the up-and-down relationships between families, all of the love and complications, and the bond between women. I loved every painful, funny, meaningful word.

[Abigail Jentzen · Rating 2 out of 5]

Very strange, depressing read

[Shannon Gannon · Rating 3 out of 5]

Meh 🤷

[Laurie Larsen · Rating 3 out of 5]

I liked it, and I liked the author's voice and style. But what confused me as a reader was that each chapter could take place in a variety of timeframes. The author was simultaneously telling stories from the characters' childhood, young adulthood and current day, so chapter by chapter I had to jump back and forth in time so many times, it made my head spin. Frankly, I got tired of it, hence the 3 stars. Other than that, I liked it.

[Heather · Rating 3 out of 5]

The book started off a bit slow but was an interesting look at one woman's family experience and the dynamics between her and her mother/father/sister and how you do what you have to do for those you love.

[Karen · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book was about a daughter caring for her dying mother. The most memorable moment in the daughter's life was the night her mother took her skinny dipping at a lake by their summer vacation house. It's about the things that shape us and make us different from even our siblings.

[Recynd · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'm a sucker for coming-of-age themes, but must confess that since I seemed to have liked it more than virtually anyone else, I might need to give it a second (and more close) look.

[Carrie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Quick Read

[Kyle · Rating 2 out of 5]

poorly developed characters... i think i read it, but cant be sure. not a good sign...

[Caroline · Rating 4 out of 5]

When i bought this book, i thought it would be a quick read, but it really got to me, i could find parts of myself in Lucy and the relationship between her and her mother Faye.

[Kathryn Dechairo · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book made me want to swim naked in the sea! An interesting tale of family dynamics and the mother daughter relationship. Great read.

[Kathy Gilliland · Rating 2 out of 5]

Very dysfunctional family story. A little depressing.

[Dennis Fishel · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is mostly a girl's book, although sensitive and caring men--like me (?)--who need a break from our diet of explosions and bloodletting can also enjoy it.

[Stefanie Jones · Rating 4 out of 5]

""

[Tammy · Rating 3 out of 5]

Very dismal.