Why We Swim by Bonnie Tsui is a great book explaining why humans swim (obviously). She explores swimming through five parts and how these components interact with each other. The author uses history, science, culture, and experiences of others and even herself to explain why our species have swum for such a long time.
The first part of the book is about survival. Ancient humans swam for survival, and so do humans today. There was also information about the evolution of tools that helped people swim and survive in the water. Bonnie Tsui next writes about the well-being of humans through swimming. Mainly through the account of her friend Kim Chambers, a long-distance swimmer, the author writes that swimming can help humans heal faster and become healthier. Not just healing the body, swimming can help form bonds to make a community. With her own experience as a child in a community swimming pool and narrating a story of a swimming class made of soldiers during the conflict in Iraq, Bonnie Tsui shows the readers that swimming allows to form bonds and make everyone equal, even in the most unexpected places. The fourth reason why humans swim (according to the book) is the most common reason, competition. The emotions, the accounts, and the evolution of competition swimming are mentioned in this book. Not only that, Tsui mentions competition not just in speed, but through the way people move in the water. The author goes to Japan to learn about how the samurai swam without speed but the efficiency of movement and how people compete with the samurai's methods. Lastly, Bonnie Tsui mentions the psychological concept of flow, the idea of being in a different state of mind during an activity. She mentions how flow can occur through swimming and how ideas and thoughts can surface through swimming. At the very end of the book, the author mentions that these five concepts of swimming are not separated by clear-cut lines, but are all connected in different ways.
When I found Why We Swim on Goodreads, I desperately wanted to read it. As a competitive swimmer who hates and fears swimming, I asked this question many times, and I believed this book to answer my problems. So I begged my mother to buy me this book, and I read it in a week. I'll be honest. I did not get the solution to my anxiety of going to swimming practice from the book. Instead, Bonnie Tsui opened another perspective of swimming I never saw before. Even though it did not help me become a better swimmer, it allowed me to appreciate swimming more than just hating it.
Not only did this book allow me to learn more about swimming, but it also allowed me to reflect and identify my experience with swimming. When I lived in Korea for around two years (third grade to fifth grade), I was part of a very small swim team with a really horrible coach. My group and I went through many hardships from harsh workouts to abuse from our coach, but we were able to closely bond together and become so close we were literally family. Also, even though I get anxiety from swimming, I love the feeling of diving into the water and having the water surround me with its gentleness. Because of this book, I was able to connect those ideas from the book to events in my own life.
Why We Swim received a five star from me because of its impact on me. It wasn't the most revolutionary and groundbreaking book I had read, but because I could connect with it so much, it helped me feel better about my sport. I would recommend this to people who are interested in swimming or just want to have a peaceful read.
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