Fiction
Pub Date: May 01, 2014
6 X 9.25 in | 320 pgs
Trade Paperback: 9780995823549

                      Winner: 2016 Prix Louise de Kiriline Lawrence for Non Fiction

“Laura Young puts you right there on the shore, or battling the waves, or fighting tears during the final strokes. Thank you Laura for telling our stories. This book will guide a whole new generation of adventurers to take on bigger challenges and achieve new goals.”

-Alex Baumann, Canadian Olympic double gold medalist and double world record holder in swimming

“One of the most inspiring books I have ever read. The swimmers had heart, they were brave, and relentlessly focused. Great book. Great people. Great swims. A great success for Laura E. Young!”

-Lynne Cox, open-ocean swimmer extraordinaire and author of “Swimming to Antarctica”

“Laura Young puts you right there on the shore, or battling the waves, or fighting tears during the final strokes. Thank you Laura for telling our stories. This book will guide a whole new generation of adventurers to take on bigger challenges and achieve new goals.”

-Vicki Keith, Crossed All Five Great Lakes In 1988

All Canadians know Marilyn Bell and her 1954 swim across Lake Ontario. Most of us can recall a few other crossers - probably Vicki Keith and Cindy Nicholas; perhaps Colleen Shields or Paula Stephanson. But few of us know that in fact, including Bell's swim, 74 swimmers (mostly amateur and mostly Canadian) have made 66 crossings of Lake Ontario, 19 of Erie, five of Huron and Georgian Bay, two of Michigan, and two of Superior. What drives them to undertake such an ordeal? Well, to fill us in Laura E. Young interviewed over 40 Canadian swimmers, both the icons whose names we know, and the many not-so-regular Canadians who also answered the challenge to swim across a Great Lake.

About the Author

Laura E. Young
Laura grew up in Halifax, Nova Scotia but now lives in Sudbury, Ontario where she has been a long-time sports writer in and is a member of the Professional Writers’ Association of Canada. Laura has personal experience in open-water swimming and is a member of Masters Swimming Ontario and Masters Swimming Canada.