story begins with a childhood memory of being knocked down by waves at a California beach, leavin...

story begins with a childhood memory of being knocked down by waves at a California beach, leaving him with an underlying dread of water. Years later, determined to overcome this, he joins the Y.M.C.A. pool to learn swimming. However, a terrifying incident occurs: a "big bruiser" of a boy tosses Douglas into the nine-foot-deep end. Despite three desperate attempts to spring upward from the bottom, Douglas cannot reach the surface. He experiences the sensation of drowning—his lungs ache, his limb