At a beach resort on Koh Samui, in the Gulf of Thailand, I had my choice of an infinity-edge pool with freshwater, a freeform version with salt water, and the gorgeous gulf itself.

I’ve shared the sea with flabby Soviet matrons in the Crimea and alternated lanes with perfectly molded starlets in Beverly Hills. I’ve swum in an outdoor heated pool during a snowfall in Utah and from a black volcanic beach in Greece, in a stream-fed pond in the mountains of northern Kenya and in the cool aquamarine of a pool in the Australian desert. Over the years, I’ve managed to satisfy my cravings in an eclectic collection of international water holes. But it’s also an inward journey, a time of quiet contemplation, when, encased in an element at once hostile and familiar, I find myself at peace, able-and eager-to flex my mind, imagine new possibilities, to work things out without the startling interruptions of human voice or modern life. Swimming stretches my body beyond its earthly limits, helping to soothe every ache and caress every muscle. Tell me, as the medical world does from time to time, to think of something pleasant and count backwards, and I’m back in the drink, enveloped by an ocean, a lake, or a turquoise box, carving long and languorous laps that lull me into serenity.Īt one level, it’s purely sensual: the silky feeling of liquid on skin the chance to float free, as close to flying as I’ll ever get the opportunity to reach, if not for the stars, at least for the starfish. Ask me in the middle of winter, or at the end of a grueling day, or after a long stretch at the computer, where I’d most like to be, and the answer is always the same: in the water, gliding weightless, slicing a silent trail through whatever patch of blue I can find. Sherr's book interweaves fascinating facts about swimming and its history with the story of her own pursuit of one of swimming's legends: swimming across the Hellespont, now called the Dardanelles, the busy shipping lane that divides Europe from Asia.īook Excerpt: 'Swim: Why We Love the Water' By: Lynn Sherr

Robin Young and former broadcast journalist and writer Lynn Sherr take a dip in the placid waters of Crystal Lake in Newton, Massachusetts, and talk about Sherr's new book, 'Swim: Why We Love the Water.' Facebook Email This article is more than 10 years old.

Swim by Lynn Sherr