Learning To Swim When You're Scared: How To Overcome A Fear Of Water

I actually purchased this book to help my best friend as she has never learnt to swim. Her fear stemmed from a traumatic childhood incident and this book gives some good advice about working through that kind of fear. I like the way it starts out with the very basics and encourages slow and steady progress at your own pace. I had also never thought about how you can do a lot of the preparatory work at home without having to visit a pool and be embarrassed or afraid that somebody will splash you. It has given us a lot of food for thought and we are looking forward to getting started.

great for pinpointing the problem to begin with. step by step instruction is very helpful and right on problem target

I received a free copy of this book from Story Cartel in exchange for this review.I took swimming lessons when I was in grade school. It wasn't always fun. I learned some basics, like how to swim, and how to float, but I knew I would never be the next Mark Spitz (or, for readers who don't remember that long ago, Michael Phelps. I'm glad I do know how to swim, though. It may come in handy some day.That was my thought reading this book. It's a very short book, but it contains a lot of information. It's designed for adults who, unlike me, have never been swimming, or are afraid of the water. There are some basic exercises on how to get used to submerging your head, and how to float. It also goes over some basic reasons for being afraid of the water, and how to start to overcome them. The author does recommend professional help if the basics don't work.The book doesn't have a lot of story information, but it wasn't designed for that. It takes a very no-nonsense approach to swimming, and reinforces the fact that anyone can do it. She also says many times during the book, don't worry about how you look, or how other people perceive you. If they have a problem, it's their problem not yours. I like that. She also has a section on what to look for in a swim instructor. All in all, a good book. So, to quote Dory from Finding Nemo, "Just keep swimming."

I can imagine this book being very helpful to a lot of people. Author Katie Smith's goal is to offer a guide to can be utilized by those who fear the water BEFORE they begin formal lessons. Her belief is that a lot of time and money is wasted as those who are scared of water use valuable formal lesson time overcoming that fear. Why not conquer your fear before beginning lessons and save some time and money?This guide takes the reader from mental exercises to determine the source of fear, to being comfortable with water on your face, to fully submerging, to floating, and finally to some basic kicking technique. This is NOT a "Basics of Swimming" manual, but rather a helpful tool to front-load adult swimming lessons and increase the chance of success.I believe this book could be very helpful for someone struggling with fear of the water, but desiring to learn how to swim. Smith's tone is obviously professional and knowledgeable, but her tone is warm, comforting, and helpful.I'm not a great swimmer, but I don't struggle with a fear of the water. However, I know some who do and I will recommend this book to them.

This is an excellent and simple book that explains the benefits and joy of knowing how to swim and how to overcome your phobia of swimming. So many people go on holidays to beach resorts but dare not adventure into the swimming pool or beach for fear of drowning I being one of them.I like the way the author explains the reason behind the steps you need to take for example swimming lessons and how she cleverly teaches you how to break the fear of swimming off of your life for good.The author surely has a lot of experience behind her by the way she is able to motivate and encourage people from different back ground and ages to begin to learn to swim and not be afraid.

This was a good read. Good information. I have some water fears and this seemed to readily address even suggested hypnosis.