Draw Near to Me - (Swimming with Ghosts) by Michelle Brafman

About the Book

A woman's coma serves as the catalyst for a flawed and broken family to find kinship in surprising places and to heal old wounds by drawing near those who have damaged them the most.

Book Synopsis

In this highly-anticipated sequel to Swimming with Ghosts, the discovery of a desperately-hidden secret brings a family to the brink of collapse--the exact place where they may ultimately find true healing and forgiveness.

One day before a freak accident lands devoted wife and mother Kristy Weinstein in a coma, her husband, David, discovers a devastating secret she'd been keeping for months. While Kristy sleeps, the Weinstein family experiences both heartache and miracles they never could have imagined for themselves. A hospital chaplain with an unforgettable voice and magical powers visits Kristy, eliciting hidden memories and future visions she needs to recover from her destructive love addiction.

While Kristy's life hangs in the balance, broken-hearted David, a high-risk OB with a God complex, must grapple with his pride and demons in order make impossible decisions about his career, wife, and the new baby that has served as a joyful family distraction from the roiling tensions stemming from Kristy's betrayal. Kristy and David's college-aged daughter Mia, nicknamed "Scoop," clashes with her family as she tries to solve the mystery of the events leading up to her mother's coma, and Patrick, Kristy's half-brother, fights to hold on to his sobriety and his beloved fiancée while he nearly crumbles under the fear of losing his sister and the responsibility of showing up for Kristy's family.

Ultimately, Kristy's coma serves as the catalyst for each family member to find kinship in surprising places and to heal old wounds by drawing near those who have damaged them the most. This is a timely story about the emotional and spiritual work it takes to repair an impossible rupture in a marriage, a relationship, a family, and in turn the larger communities in which we live, hope, and love.

Review Quotes

Praise for Swimming with Ghosts

"I really enjoyed Swimming with Ghosts, for the excellent characters, unusual plot inside the world of local competitive swimming, the fine writing, and the frequent insights and humor. I raced right through it." --Anne Lamott

"Who knows when a perfect life might be ripped out by the roots? It's summer and as closest friendships go under and family secrets surface, a storm may be coming for Gillian Cloud and her picture-perfect swim club community. Michelle Brafman is such a sharp observer of suburban life and Gillian, and #bestie Kristy, are a deliciously written, female friendship. So compelling, I snuck out of bed at night to finish it. Dive in!" --Helen Simonson, author of Major Pettigrew's Last Stand and The Summer Before the War

"Swimming with Ghosts dives into the world of children's competitive swimming with sharp observations and an abundance of empathy. I was thrilled to spend time at the picture-perfect River Run swim club, caught in the swirl of family secrets and friendship. Moving perfectly between humor and darkness, Michelle Brafman delivers a delicious and compelling book about jealousy, addiction, and legacy." --Jennifer Close, bestselling author of Girls in White Dresses and Marrying the Ketchups

"Swimming with Ghosts is a story about ripple effects and the lies we tell ourselves in our most valiant, human, futile attempts to escape our own histories. This is my favorite kind of novel: a page-turner about love and secrets, honor and betrayal, and all the messiness of families and legacies." --Lauren Fox, New York Times bestselling author of Send for Me

"I devoured Swimming with Ghosts in a single day, tearing through one unputdownable chapter to the next. A perfect book club pick, Brafman writes with loving sensitivity and humor about two close friends, their families, and the secrets that join them together." --Bethany Ball, author of The Pessimists and What to Do About the Solomons

"Beneath the surface of Michelle Brafman's propulsive Swimming with Ghosts, with its delightful humor and sharp observations of suburban mores, swirl dark undercurrents. Riptides that threaten two families lurk behind the luaus stalwart Gillian Cloud organizes at the community swimming club and her whitewashed Facebook posts. With open eyes and extraordinary compassion, Brafman tackles the shame of love addiction, illuminating its links to other addictions and what true recovery entails." --Lisa Gornick, author of The Peacock Feast and Louisa Meets Bear

"Lurking beneath the seemingly mundane surface of swim clubs and pasta parties and petty squabbles are dark secrets. Best friends who have much to hide, marriages that are not what they seem. In this page-turner of a tale, Michelle Brafman leads the reader into the deeper waters of deception, loss, and self-destructive obsession. This is a story that creeps up on you and then holds fast. It will stay with me for a long time to come." --Mary Morris, author of The Jazz Palace and Gateway to the Moon

"Swimmers and readers rejoice! Michelle Brafman's Swimming with Ghosts is proof that the most important events in life happen at the pool. Fast-paced and frequently hilarious, we unsuspectingly float on the novel's wry, quirky humor until we're suddenly over deep water, gazing into the depths of our need for purpose, friendship, and love. Anyone heading to a pool or beach this summer should have a copy of Swimming with Ghosts in their swim bag." --David McGlynn, author of A Door in the Ocean

"Michelle Brafman deftly peels back the layers of suburbia, revealing an unforgettable summer that's part Peyton Place, part American Beauty, with a hint of David Lynch. As she knows, competitive youth sports is a world that drives some of the best over the edge. Yet it can also heal so many of us." --Tim Wendel, author of Escape from Castro's Club

"A gripping family drama, Swimming with Ghosts is as suspenseful as it is sensitively wrought." --Annie Berke, Washington City Paper

"Swimming with Ghosts...offers a summer read that tackles serious issues while also seeking to deliver a highly readable, page-turning story." --Ellen Braunstein, The Wisconsin Jewish Chronicle

"This is the book that you can really take to the beach, sit in your chair, and dive all the way in!" --Amy Impellizzeri, WHMT-TV's "Good Day PA" (Harrisburg)

"Brafman's third novel, Swimming with Ghosts, is a page turner... The intensity of their involvement in this competitive and recreational activity turns into a serious exploration of friendship, addiction, and what is truly meaningful in life." --Martha Anne Toll, Bloom

"I loved it so much! Out of this seemingly small world [Brafman] created a story with such heft and consequence; it has an almost epic quality--brava!" --Yona Zeldis McDonough, Lilith

"Michelle Brafman's Swimming with Ghosts explores the inner workings of a Northern Virginia swim club, focusing mostly on a group of team moms and best friends with (depending on how you look at it) too much or not enough time on their hands. It's also a story about addiction in all its forms. And about ghosts in all their forms. Plus, there are marriages--both strong and strained--to consider. The novel, Brafman's third, delights in taking its characters and throwing them into the deep end." --Cathy Alter, Washington Independent Review of Books

"Read on to learn why this equally devastating and humorous novel deserves a spot in your pool bag this summer." --Jessie Walker, Baltimore Fishbowl

"My favorite part of this story is how it's told from the point of view of four separate characters.... Full of domestic drama born of complicated histories and deep-seated secrets."--Tricia Ford, Audible Editor

"Wonderfully drawn characters and a lovely portrayal of friendship!" --Gail Gottleib, host of New Books Network Literary Fiction Podcast

"Quite the page-turner." --Marion Winik, The Weekly Reader

"A perfect summer listen." --AudioFile

"A story about revealing community secrets and shame, it's no wonder Swimming with Ghosts has already become a summer favorite around the Lilith office." --Lilith Magazine

"Moving... This fast-paced novel is difficult to put down, and so affecting you won't want to." --R.L. Maizes, author of Other People's Pets

About the Author

Michelle Brafman is the author of Swimming with Ghosts, Washing the Dead, and Bertrand Court: Stories. Her essays and short stories have appeared in Slate, LitHub, The Forward, Tablet, and elsewhere. She teaches fiction writing in the Johns Hopkins University MA in Writing Program. A former swim mom and NCAA All-American freestyler, Michelle has never lived more than a mile away from a pool, lake, ocean, or river. Learn more at www.michellebrafman.com.