100 books like The Swimmers

By Julie Otsuka,

Here are 100 books that The Swimmers fans have personally recommended if you like The Swimmers. Shepherd is a community of 12,000+ authors and super readers sharing their favorite books with the world.

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Book cover of Swimming for My Life: A Memoir

Liz Kinchen Author Of Light in Bandaged Places: Healing in the Wake of Young Betrayal

From my list on teenage abuse and healing.

Why am I passionate about this?

I resonate with these stories; I feel a kinship with authors of books about teen sexual abuse. My heart breaks for another innocent young person, and I am also inspired by the different ways we find healing and peace. I am so grateful for my healing journey that I want to share what helped me with others who are looking for greater peace with their struggles and scars. I am proud to join the ranks of these authors because we all shine a spotlight on the harm done by this too-common abuse of the trust and innocence of teenage girls. 

Liz's book list on teenage abuse and healing

Liz Kinchen Why did Liz love this book?

In this memoir, we meet Kim as a teen athlete and an Olympic-bound swimmer. The book shows the intense training environment of young athletes of this caliber experience, and as I read it, I was filled with both admiration and a deep uneasiness.

She’s so vulnerable to her esteemed coach, as I was to my teacher. Swimming was her life, and her coach held her future in his hands. When the inevitable grooming and seduction began, my heart sank further in outrage and sorrow. Like me, Kim finds her way out, but as with all young girls groomed and betrayed, it is not easy.

By Kim Fairley,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Swimming for My Life as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

In 1970s Cincinnati, Kim's overwhelmed, financially stressed parents dragged her and her four younger siblings into swimming-starting with a nearby motel pool-as a way to keep them occupied and out of their way. When Kim was eleven, they began leaving the kids at home with a sitter while they traveled the Midwest, where they sold imported wooden ornaments from their motorhome. But when Kim's six-year-old brother crashed his new Cheater Slick bike and the babysitter deserted the children, what started as an accident became a pattern: Mom and Dad leaving for weeks at a time and the kids wrestling with…


Book cover of Swimming to Antarctica: Tales of a Long-Distance Swimmer

Kathleen McDonnell Author Of Growing Old, Going Cold: Notes on Swimming, Aging, and Finishing Last

From my list on swimming for people who aren’t competitive swimmers.

Why am I passionate about this?

For most of my life I’ve been both a writer and a swimmer. I’ve engaged in both activities for many decades, but I’ve always kept the two entirely separate. Write about swimming? Why? What would I say? What was there to say about water and the act of moving through it? It seemed to me that it was a case of “you have to be there,” that writing about swimming would be too removed from the immediacy, the tactility, the floating state of mind. It was only when I discovered works by some truly great writers that I began to see that I could write about my own love of being in water, and how I might go about it.

Kathleen's book list on swimming for people who aren’t competitive swimmers

Kathleen McDonnell Why did Kathleen love this book?

Lynne Cox is one of the world’s most extraordinary distance swimmers, and she’s also a remarkable writer. In this, her first book, she writes about her emotional connection to water, her spiritual need to swim, as well as recounting the many challenges she faced in her successful crossing of the Bering Strait – not the least of which was the 38F water temperature. I was truly honored when Lynne agreed to write a testimonial for my book.

By Lynne Cox,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Swimming to Antarctica as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

NATIONAL BESTSELLER • In this extraordinary book, the world’s most extraordinary distance swimmer writes about her emotional and spiritual need to swim and about the almost mystical act of swimming itself.

Lynne Cox trained hard from age nine, working with an Olympic coach, swimming five to twelve miles each day in the Pacific. At age eleven, she swam even when hail made the water “like cold tapioca pudding” and was told she would one day swim the English Channel. Four years later—not yet out of high school—she broke the men’s and women’s world records for the Channel swim. In 1987,…


Book cover of Moment of Truth

Lexi Kingston Author Of Fall for Me

From my list on romance with swoon-worthy characters.

Why am I passionate about this?

Since I was a child, my imagination would run rampant with ideas and fantasies I had no idea how to channel. Then, when I was fifteen, I joined my high school’s creative writing class, and suddenly, every fantasy I’d ever concocted in my head had somewhere to develop. Sweet romance books have always fulfilled me, and I love it when, from the first page, you can feel the sparks between the main characters. They have a wholesomeness that leaves me feeling refreshed and hopeful, and I love that, for a few hundred pages, I can dive into another world and experience love through someone else’s eyes. 

Lexi's book list on romance with swoon-worthy characters

Lexi Kingston Why did Lexi love this book?

I found this book truly inspiring. Hadley’s dedication to swimming was motivating in itself and reminded me much of when I was a teenager, locking myself in my room to write whatever story idea was on my heart that day.

I loved how this book dealt with the real challenges of youth. It was interesting how the characters unburdened themselves by facing their greatest fears. The romance was also beautifully written, and I found myself rooting for both characters on their own paths and together.

By Kasie West,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Moment of Truth as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it. This book is for kids age 12, 13, 14, and 15.

What is this book about?

Beloved author Kasie West once again delivers a witty, lighthearted romance that will charm her legions of fans and is perfect for readers of Jenny Han and Huntley Fitzpatrick.

At sixteen, Hadley Moore knows exactly who she is—a swimmer who will earn a scholarship to college. Totally worth all the hard work, even if her aching shoulders don’t agree.

So when a guy dressed as Hollywood’s latest action hero, Heath Hall, crashes her swim meet, she isn’t amused. Instead, she’s determined to make sure he doesn’t bother her again. Only she’s not sure exactly who he is. 

The swim meet…


Book cover of Yusra Swims

Meeg Pincus Author Of Miep and the Most Famous Diary: The Woman Who Rescued Anne Frank's Diary

From my list on ordinary helpers in extraordinary times.

Why am I passionate about this?

I’m someone who feels everything deeply and longs for a kinder, healthier world for everyone. A humane educator and diverse books advocate, I’m drawn to true stories that inspire compassion, inclusivity, and taking action in our own unique ways to make a difference. My nonfiction picture books—including Winged Wonders, Cougar Crossing, Ocean Soup, Make Way for Animals!, So Much More To Helen, and more— focus on “solutionaries” who help people, animals, and the planet. They’ve won Golden Kite and Eureka! Nonfiction Honor Awards, starred reviews, and spots on best books lists.

Meeg's book list on ordinary helpers in extraordinary times

Meeg Pincus Why did Meeg love this book?

I was bowled over by Yusra Mardini’s powerful story when I heard it during the 2016 Olympics, when she was a swimmer on the global Refugee team. As Yusra and her sister were fleeing war-torn Syria and their boat began to sink, the 17-year-old did what she knew how to do best—swim—to help save the lives of everyone aboard. In sparse but powerful words and art, this book shows American children so much about the refugee experience, through a teenager whose life probably looked very much like their own before war struck her country, and who stepped up and saved others with her skill while at risk herself.

By Julie Abery, Sally Deng (illustrator),

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Yusra Swims as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

Age range 5 to 9

Based on a real life story!

Yusra Mardini loves to swim. Growing up in Damascus, she is just a girl with a dream: to swim for her country in the Olympic Games. But when war erupts in her country, she is forced to flee.

In spare, rhyming verse, Yursa Swims tells the true story of one girl's journey from her beloved home in Syria to Germany.

We follow her to the Turkish coast, where she boards a small, crowded boat across the Aegean Sea to Greece. When the boat begins to sink, Yusra swims, helping…


Book cover of Wild Woman Swimming: A Journal of West Country Waters

Rebecca Beattie Author Of The Wheel of the Year: Your Rejuvenating Guide to Connecting with Nature's Seasons and Cycles

From my list on to reconnect you to nature.

Why am I passionate about this?

As a practicing pagan, and nature writer, I write books about how to reconnect to nature, how to rediscover and connect to your inner self, and your sense of spirituality. I grew up in the wilds of a large national park (Dartmoor) and have found that this colours and shapes everything I do. I spent thirty years living and working in London, and missed Dartmoor every day I was away. Whilst living in the city I had to learn ways to connect to nature, which is how I discovered my spiritual path. I was lucky enough to stage an escape and return home at forty-seven, and have been writing about it ever since.

Rebecca's book list on to reconnect you to nature

Rebecca Beattie Why did Rebecca love this book?

I love this book as I used it as a road map of swimming adventures when I moved back home to the West Country after thirty years of living in the city.

I was faced with the challenge of not knowing where to swim, as we didn’t really go in the water when I was a child. The author visits a plethora of favourite swimming spots with a group of friends, and I felt like I was accompanying them on their trips.

I was able to use the book as a guide, to go and visit all the spots Lynne Roper mentions in her diaries, safe in the knowledge I was visiting places that people have swum in for years.

Book cover of Young Woman and the Sea: How Trudy Ederle Conquered the English Channel and Inspired the World

Elise Hooper Author Of Fast Girls: A Novel of the 1936 Women's Olympic Team

From my list on inspirational women athletes.

Why am I passionate about this?

My novels explore women whose contributions to culture have been relegated to the footnotes of mainstream history books, and in few areas have women been more overlooked than in sports. Because of the achievements of today’s female athletes, ranging from the many athletic opportunities available to our young daughters to the professional success of women like Serena Williams, it’s easy to think that progress for women’s sports has come a long way—and in many ways, it has, thanks to legislative protections like Title IX—but these achievements reflect over a century’s worth of sacrifice by many unheralded women athletes. Here are five books that highlight this journey.

Elise's book list on inspirational women athletes

Elise Hooper Why did Elise love this book?

These days Gertrude Ederle is unfamiliar to many of us, but a century ago she was an athletic champion whose celebrity rivaled Babe Ruth’s. In 1926, two years after winning three medals at the Paris Olympics, she became the first woman to swim the English Channel, an amazing feat of endurance and perseverance that took 14 hours and 37 minutes, a time almost two hours faster than the speediest of the five men who had gone before her. Along with recreating Ederle’s harrowing Channel journey in vivid detail, renowned sportswriter Glenn Stout infuses life back into Ederle and shows us why President Coolidge called her “America’s Best Girl.”

By Glenn Stout,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Young Woman and the Sea as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

The exhilarating true story of Trudy Ederle, the first woman to swim the English Channel, and inspire a "wave of confidence and emancipation" for women in sports (Parade).

By age twenty, at the height of the Jazz Age, Trudy Ederle was the most accomplished swimmer in the world. She'd won Olympic gold and set a host of world records. But the greatest challenge remained: the English Channel. Only a few swimmers, none of them women, had ever made the treacherous twenty-one mile crossing. Trudy's failed first attempt seemed to confirm what many naysayers believed: No woman could possibly accomplish such…


Book cover of Ministry with the Forgotten: Dementia through a Spiritual Lens

Mary McDaniel Cail Author Of Dementia and the Church: Memory, Care, and Inclusion

From my list on books for dementia-friendly churches.

Why am I passionate about this?

I founded the All-Weather Friend, which is about helping friends get through difficult situations. My first book, Alzheimer’s: A Crash Course for Friends and Relatives, tells how to help people living with dementia. I’ve had hard times in my life—my husband’s brain tumor and suicide, my father’s dementia, infertility, miscarriage, my brother’s sudden death, and other things that flooded me with grief. But my life is filled with joy; I’ve learned that joy comes from God and from a compassionate connection with friends and people we love. I write and speak about “informed compassion.” I hope you’ll visit my website, where there’s a great dementia resource page with contributions by many readers.

Mary's book list on books for dementia-friendly churches

Mary McDaniel Cail Why did Mary love this book?

The author, a retired bishop and professor emeritus at Duke Divinity School, has not only written this book to tell about his journey as a caregiver to his wife, who died of frontotemporal lobe dementia, but also provides (free of charge) a set of truly excellent companion videos churches can use to educate their congregations about dementia.

Carder writes about the transformation in his understanding of love as he learned new ways of relating to his wife, realizing that she, in her infirmity, had become his teacher about love.

By Kenneth L Carder,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Ministry with the Forgotten as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

Dementia diseases represent a crisis of faith for many family members and congregations. Magnifying this crisis is the way people with dementia tend to be objectified by both medical and religious communities. They are recipients of treatment and projects for mission. Ministry is done to and for them rather than with them.

While acknowledging the devastation of dementia diseases, Ken Carder draws on his own experience as a caregiver, hospice chaplain, and pastoral practitioner to portray the gifts as well as the challenges accompanying dementia diseases. He confronts the deep personal and theological questions created by loving people with dementia…


Book cover of Creating Moments of Joy Along the Alzheimer's Journey: A Guide for Families and Caregivers

Mary McDaniel Cail Author Of Dementia and the Church: Memory, Care, and Inclusion

From my list on books for dementia-friendly churches.

Why am I passionate about this?

I founded the All-Weather Friend, which is about helping friends get through difficult situations. My first book, Alzheimer’s: A Crash Course for Friends and Relatives, tells how to help people living with dementia. I’ve had hard times in my life—my husband’s brain tumor and suicide, my father’s dementia, infertility, miscarriage, my brother’s sudden death, and other things that flooded me with grief. But my life is filled with joy; I’ve learned that joy comes from God and from a compassionate connection with friends and people we love. I write and speak about “informed compassion.” I hope you’ll visit my website, where there’s a great dementia resource page with contributions by many readers.

Mary's book list on books for dementia-friendly churches

Mary McDaniel Cail Why did Mary love this book?

Moments of joy are often all that can be had by people in the later stages of dementia when life is lived moment by forgotten moment. What people may not realize, though, is that while the memories of joyful moments (an ice cream cone, petting a dog, looking at pictures, taking a walk) may be quickly forgotten, the emotion of joy will linger.

Brackey tells us how to create moments of joy for our loved ones with dementia and that people with dementia have much to teach us about ourselves.

By Jolene Brackey,

Why should I read it?

2 authors picked Creating Moments of Joy Along the Alzheimer's Journey as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

The beloved best seller has been revised and expanded for the fifth edition.

Jolene Brackey has a vision: that we will soon look beyond the challenges of Alzheimer's disease to focus more of our energies on creating moments of joy. When people have short-term memory loss, their lives are made up of moments. We are not able to create perfectly wonderful days for people with dementia or Alzheimer's, but we can create perfectly wonderful moments, moments that put a smile on their faces and a twinkle in their eyes. Five minutes later, they will not remember what we did or…


Book cover of Kira-Kira

Kathryn Siebel Author Of The Trouble with Twins

From my list on bothersome brothers and sisters.

Why am I passionate about this?

I grew up in suburban Chicago as the middle of five children. My siblings were and are at the center of my world. Now I work with school-age children, and my fascination with the love/annoyance these relationships engender continues. I loved Little Women as a child, and stories of siblings, especially sisters, still tug at my heart. It’s no wonder my first middle-grade novel is just such a tale.

Kathryn's book list on bothersome brothers and sisters

Kathryn Siebel Why did Kathryn love this book?

This beautiful, bittersweet novel tells the story of Katie; her sister, Lynn; and their brother, Sammy. Growing up in 1950s Georgia, in one of the few Japanese families in their town, the kids stand out and must struggle against prejudice, economic hardship, and Lynn’s eventual illness. What could be a bleak story is redeemed by Katie’s dry humor and the author’s portrayal of the deep bond between the children and within the family and the Japanese community. Lynn teaches Katie that however difficult life becomes, one must look for Kira-Kira—the things that glitter like the stars above. This book doesn’t flinch from hard topics: the labor conditions in the poultry industry, Lynn’s illness, racial prejudice. As a writer, I admire Kadohata’s willingness to tackle these issues and her faith that kids will learn from having such stories as part of their reading lives. 

By Cynthia Kadohata,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Kira-Kira as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it. This book is for kids age 10, 11, 12, and 13.

What is this book about?

A Japanese-American family struggles to build a new life in the Deep South of Georgia in this luminous novel, winner of the Newbery Medal.

kira-kira (kee' ra kee' ra): glittering; shining
Glittering. That's how Katie Takeshima's sister, Lynn, makes everything seem. The sky is kira-kira because its color is deep but see-through at the same time. The sea is kira-kira for the same reason. And so are people's eyes. When Katie and her family move from a Japanese community in Iowa to the Deep South of Georgia, it's Lynn who explains to her why people stop them on the street…


Book cover of Japanese Americans: The Formation and Transformations of an Ethnic Group

Saara Kekki Author Of Japanese Americans at Heart Mountain: Networks, Power, and Everyday Life

From my list on really feeling the everyday life of the Japanese American community.

Why am I passionate about this?

Having encountered Japanese American incarceration as an undergraduate student, I was perplexed at how distant so many of the narratives were. How could such a large-scale forced removal in recent history seem like it happened “somewhere else?” This started my never-ending yearning to really understand and feel how these camps operated as communities. I have little doubt that this could happen again in the United States and Canada or elsewhere, so it’s my passion to keep educating people both in my home country of Finland and North America about the underlying dynamics leading to incarceration. 

Saara's book list on really feeling the everyday life of the Japanese American community

Saara Kekki Why did Saara love this book?

I read this book after having already read dozens of books on Japanese American history and immediately felt that this was the one book that one truly needs to read.

Spickard not only explains and interprets on behalf of the community but also really seeks to understand how and why the Japanese Americans became the type of ethnic community they are.

More importantly, this book doesn’t only focus on the surface story of the racism that led to incarceration but delves much deeper into race relations, including those between Japanese Americans and other minorities.  

By Paul R. Spickard,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Japanese Americans as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

Since 1855, nearly a half a million Japanese immigrants have settled in the United States, the majority arriving between 1890 and 1924 during the great wave of immigration to Hawai'i and the mainland. Today, more than one million Americans claim Japanese ancestry. They came to study and to work, and found jobs as farm laborers, cannery workers, and railroad workers. Many settled permanently, formed communities, and sent for family members in Japan. While they worked hard, established credit associations and other networks, and repeatedly distinguished themselves as entrepreneurs, they also encountered harsh discrimination. Nowhere was this more evident than on…


Book cover of Swimming for My Life: A Memoir
Book cover of Swimming to Antarctica: Tales of a Long-Distance Swimmer
Book cover of Moment of Truth

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