A former Obama speechwriter moves to the Jersey Shore and learns to surf with the help of his brother-in-law: a tattooed, truck-driving Joe Rogan superfan.David, the Yale-educated writer with a fear of sharks, and Matt, the daredevil electrician with a shed full of surfboards, had never been close. But as America's crises piled up and David spiraled into existential dread, he noticed that his brother-in-law was thriving. He began to suspect Matt's favorite hobby had something to do with it.David started taking surf lessons. For months, he wiped out on waves the height of daffodils. Yet, after realizing that surfing could change him both in and out of the water, he set an audacious goal: riding a big wave in Hawaii. He searched for an expert he could trust to guide and protect him-and when he couldn't find one, he asked Matt. Together, they set out on a journey that spanned coasts, and even continents, before taking them to Oahu's famously dangerous North Shore.It's Only Drowning is a laugh-out-loud love letter to surfing-and so much more. It's an ode to embarking on adventures at any age. It's a blueprint for becoming braver at a time when it takes courage just to read the news. Most of all, it's the story of an unlikely friendship, one that crosses the fault lines of education, ideology, and culture tearing so many of us apart. It's is not just a surfing memoir - in addition to tackling (and be tackled by) the waves, David tackles the complex cultural nuances of our current society. Readers will recognize their own 'surfing' journeys and their own 'Matts', making David's story a beacon of hope to those of us who struggle to, but want to step outside our comfort zones whether that means taking up a new hobby or embarking on a journey to understand the other side of the aisle.

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