Swimming in Air

Swimming in Air is a literary memoir about the half-truths we tell ourselves to get through life, the unexpected places that change us, and the discovery of what has been hidden in plain sight all along.It's 1986. Vivian, a linguist from Argentina's German colony, believes every relationship has an expiration date. Parker, a physicist from Silicon Valley, believes love doesn't exist. They relocate to Germany from different parts of the world to advance their careers.When Vivian becomes Parker's German teacher, she mentors him through the complexities of European business, and their relationship becomes something more. Yet from the beginning, they agree on one thing: no commitment. Their careers will always come first.After a year together, Parker must return to the US. When Vivian won't follow him, their relationship reaches its breaking point. Unwilling to choose between love and ambition, they take one last gamble: put everything on hold for a year and backpack from Cairo to Cape Town on twenty dollars a day.Across a continent of staggering beauty and relentless hardship, they encounter child soldiers, witch doctors, and families with almost nothing except extraordinary generosity, all of which challenge everything they believe about love, independence, and what gives life meaning.In Malawi, exhausted by the travel and unsure of their future as a couple, Vivian sends Parker back to Europe. Alone, living out of a tent with only sixty dollars, she contracts malaria and faces the cost of her independence.