When Marna, an Olympic hopeful who abandoned her swimming career for love, first sees savvy, professional Laurel, friendship is the furthest thing from her mind.  But then Laurel reveals that she's not quite as perfect as her intimidating appearance indicates--she's absolutely terrified of the water.  She asks Marna for swimming lessons, and slowly the two become friends.

Both are in their thirties and struggling with uncertainties about their relationships with men.  Soon each woman grows to recognize her own hopes and fears in the other.  As they learn to trust their friendship, the secrets of their lives spill out:  Laurel cannot bring herself to tell her boyfriend, Jake, about her phobia or about the event that triggered it.  For years Marna has kept her reservations about having children from her husband, J. W., continuing to take birth control pills behind his back even as her thirteen-year marriage dissolves.  

Just as Laurel and Marna edge into best-friend intimacy, however, a shocking discovery threatens to undo their lives.  

The story is about the friendship between women, its warmth, strength, and importance.

Swimming Lessons was serialized in Good Housekeeping Magazine, translated into eight languages, and made into a Lifetime Original Movie of the Month titled "Another Woman's Husband."

Click here for the Booklist review of this novel.

Both the  book and the film may be purchased from Amazon.com.