It's Only Drowning: A True Story of Learning to Surf and the Pursuit of Common Ground by Litt, David
It's Only Drowning: A True Story of Learning to Surf and the Pursuit of Common Ground by Litt, David

It's Only Drowning: A True Story of Learning to Surf and the Pursuit of Common Ground

After moving from Washington, DC, to the Jersey Shore, a former speechwriter for President Obama starts surfing...
$77.63 AUD
$77.63 AUD
SKU: 9781668035351
Product Type: Books
Please hurry! Only 0 left in stock
Author: David Litt
Format: Hardcover
Language: English
Subtotal: $77.63
It's Only Drowning: A True Story of Learning to Surf and the Pursuit of Common Ground by Litt, David

It's Only Drowning: A True Story of Learning to Surf and the Pursuit of Common Ground

$77.63
It's Only Drowning: A True Story of Learning to Surf and the Pursuit of Common Ground by Litt, David

It's Only Drowning: A True Story of Learning to Surf and the Pursuit of Common Ground

$77.63
Author: David Litt
Format: Hardcover
Language: English
Description
After moving from Washington, DC, to the Jersey Shore, a former speechwriter for President Obama starts surfing at the age of thirty-five--the rough equivalent of beginning guitar lessons on your deathbed--and must turn for help to the only other surfer he knows: a tattooed, truck-driving, Joe Rogan superfan who happens to be his brother-in-law.

David Litt, the Yale-educated writer with a sensible fear of sharks, and Matt, the daredevil electrician with two motorcycles and a passion for death metal, had always coexisted from a comfortable distance as brothers-in-law. Yet in 2021, as David wallowed in existential dread while America's crises piled up, he couldn't help but notice that Matt was thriving. When he wasn't making money rewiring New Jersey beach homes, Matt was riding waves at his favorite spots in the state.

Quietly, David started taking surfing lessons. For a few months, he suffered through wipeouts on waves the height of daffodils. But to his surprise, he soon became obsessed. And once he got a sense of the ways that fully committing to surfing could change him both in the water and on land, he set his sights on an unlikely goal: riding a big wave at Hawaii's famously dangerous North Shore. To get there, he'd need Matt's help.

At a moment when the fault lines of class, education, and culture threaten to tear our country apart, It's Only Drowning is a blueprint for becoming braver at a time when it takes courage just to read the news, a love letter to surfing in the vein of William Finnegan's Barbarian Days, and a poignant buddy comedy in the tradition of Bill Bryson's A Walk in the Woods.

Author: David Litt
Publisher: Gallery Books
Published: 06/24/2025
Pages: 304
Binding Type: Hardcover
Weight: 1.13lbs
Size: 9.00h x 6.00w x 0.83d
ISBN: 9781668035351

About the Author
David Litt is the New York Times bestselling author of Thanks, Obama; Democracy in One Book or Less; and It's Only Drowning. A former senior speechwriter for Barack Obama, described as "the comic muse for the president" for his work on the White House Correspondents' Dinner monologues, he has also written for The New York Times, The Atlantic, The Washington Post, Los Angeles Times, Cosmopolitan, and more. Along with writing speeches and jokes for political figures, athletes, Fortune 500 CEOs, and philanthropists, David was the head writer/producer at Funny Or Die, DC, and has written and sold comedy pilots for Comedy Central, ABC, and NBC. Raised in New York, he and his wife now split their time between Washington DC, and Asbury Park, New Jersey. Find out more at DavidLittBooks.com.
Shipping & Return

Returns Policy

You may return most new, unopened items within 30 days of delivery for a full refund. We'll also pay the return shipping costs if the return is a result of our error (you received an incorrect or defective item, etc.).

You should expect to receive your refund within four weeks of giving your package to the return shipper, however, in many cases you will receive a refund more quickly. This time period includes the transit time for us to receive your return from the shipper (5 to 10 business days), the time it takes us to process your return once we receive it (3 to 5 business days), and the time it takes your bank to process our refund request (5 to 10 business days).

If you need to return an item, simply login to your account, view the order using the "Complete Orders" link under the My Account menu and click the Return Item(s) button. We'll notify you via e-mail of your refund once we've received and processed the returned item.

Shipping

We can ship to virtually any address in the world. Note that there are restrictions on some products, and some products cannot be shipped to international destinations.

When you place an order, we will estimate shipping and delivery dates for you based on the availability of your items and the shipping options you choose. Depending on the shipping provider you choose, shipping date estimates may appear on the shipping quotes page.

Please also note that the shipping rates for many items we sell are weight-based. The weight of any such item can be found on its detail page. To reflect the policies of the shipping companies we use, all weights will be rounded up to the next full pound.

Review