Lifesaving for Beginners

When her mother suddenly drowns at age sixty-eight, Anne Edelstein, caring for two small children of her own, must grapple with her family's history of tragic death and mental illness and her unresolved relationship with a distant and criticizing parent she could never really embrace.

Anne Edelstein has worked in the book publishing business for over 25 years, as an editor and then as a literary agent. She grew up in suburban New England as the eldest of three siblings. When she was 28 she lost her brother to suicide, and 15 years later her mother drowned at the age of 68. These two tragedies gave rise to
Lifesaving for Beginners, which is her first book. She lives in New York with her husband, and spends part of each year in Barcelona. She enjoys drawing, reading, writing, and traveling, and is an avid swimmer.