The excerpt from Maria's memoir literally took my breath away. I realized I had stopped breathing when I got to the end. Her ability to capture the small details--the dog's scarf, the sound of the waves, the feel of the sand under her cheek--is part of what makes her writing so powerful. Thank you for this introduction to her writing.
'Clawing at the ocean' is so vivid and desperate. A friend of mine drowned, perhaps deliberately, at night on a beach on Cape Cod (his clothing was found along the shore). He wrote a very haunting ballad about how 'the Goddess of the Universe is generous.' His music was anguished and rolled over the listener in waves. Not long after his death, the mournful melody was removed from his social media site permanently. It was like he drowned twice, once in the ocean, and again in silence. Maria's beautiful essay reanimated this memory for me. Thank you for sharing her powerful piece.
My goodness me! This is spectacular writing. I was choking and gagging as I read her words, totally immersed in the terror of the experience. Can’t wait to read the book!
I've almost drowned as well in the ocean and her description is TRUE. The burning sensation of the water in your lungs... god it hurts like nothing else. The terror. It's not at all peaceful. Glad we both survived.
My stomach is turning a little, because I also, in my twenties, and on a beach in Agadir or Tagazout, almost drowned. Mindlessly, utterly terrifying being taken by a rip tide (and I’d been on swim teams for years).
For years I didn’t think about it, until with friends swimming in a pond a few years ago I suddenly panicked when I was 30 meters from the shore and had to breathe carefully to get back to land. Now I don’t swim anywhere deep. How strange that my and Maria’s experiences were so close together geographically... A little haunting to read.
How many tunnels have been seen as the body rises to the light? Breaks the surface and is resurrected by a savior blowing air into the mouth . Untold stories drowning in cold waters. You go with the flow and don’t resist. Then you wonder why you were granted another chance. To continue life there must be a reason. To save another or take foolish chance defying death-knocks on the door. I still am here when the water Drew’s my body to the muddy bottom of an Adirondack lake. But I returned to this illusion world of mayas d learned to swim, to compete yet every day and still have no answers why I didn’t die. This is not the first time.
What a lesson of descriptive writing with varied sentence structure & colorful words to not only let readers see, but also feel her near drowning. Maria Coffey’s example of catastrophic experience makes me think of my own near death after a car accident left me with multiple broken bones, cuts & comatose for 3 1/2 weeks. Gives me courage to start writing about something life-changing that happened 47 years ago!
"t was a knowledge that would impel me to chase my dreams and inform the biggest choices I was to make in the years ahead." Boom! We're fortunate to be the beneficiaries of Maria's death and rebirth and now I look forward to reading her memoir. We all navigate our adventures and experiences the best we and sometimes we depend on the help of others to sustain our life to the next step or stage.
For all my experiences and for those that have given me the grace to continue a full and active life, I remain enormously grateful, and glad to be here. And that is more than enough for today. Thanks, Jane and thank you, Maria for sharing!
Such a vivid description of a near-drowning experience. Especially as someone who once nearly drowned in the Mediterranean, I felt like I was right there when I was reading it.
Incredible excerpt from Maria Coffey's memoir. The reader is right there with her as she so eloquently relives that horrifying near death moment. It's a powerful piece. Thanks for sharing this.
The excerpt from Maria's memoir literally took my breath away. I realized I had stopped breathing when I got to the end. Her ability to capture the small details--the dog's scarf, the sound of the waves, the feel of the sand under her cheek--is part of what makes her writing so powerful. Thank you for this introduction to her writing.
'Clawing at the ocean' is so vivid and desperate. A friend of mine drowned, perhaps deliberately, at night on a beach on Cape Cod (his clothing was found along the shore). He wrote a very haunting ballad about how 'the Goddess of the Universe is generous.' His music was anguished and rolled over the listener in waves. Not long after his death, the mournful melody was removed from his social media site permanently. It was like he drowned twice, once in the ocean, and again in silence. Maria's beautiful essay reanimated this memory for me. Thank you for sharing her powerful piece.
Wow! This is so compelling, brave and beautiful. I think I just read it holding my breath, with my hand on my heart.
My goodness me! This is spectacular writing. I was choking and gagging as I read her words, totally immersed in the terror of the experience. Can’t wait to read the book!
I've almost drowned as well in the ocean and her description is TRUE. The burning sensation of the water in your lungs... god it hurts like nothing else. The terror. It's not at all peaceful. Glad we both survived.
My stomach is turning a little, because I also, in my twenties, and on a beach in Agadir or Tagazout, almost drowned. Mindlessly, utterly terrifying being taken by a rip tide (and I’d been on swim teams for years).
For years I didn’t think about it, until with friends swimming in a pond a few years ago I suddenly panicked when I was 30 meters from the shore and had to breathe carefully to get back to land. Now I don’t swim anywhere deep. How strange that my and Maria’s experiences were so close together geographically... A little haunting to read.
How many tunnels have been seen as the body rises to the light? Breaks the surface and is resurrected by a savior blowing air into the mouth . Untold stories drowning in cold waters. You go with the flow and don’t resist. Then you wonder why you were granted another chance. To continue life there must be a reason. To save another or take foolish chance defying death-knocks on the door. I still am here when the water Drew’s my body to the muddy bottom of an Adirondack lake. But I returned to this illusion world of mayas d learned to swim, to compete yet every day and still have no answers why I didn’t die. This is not the first time.
What a lesson of descriptive writing with varied sentence structure & colorful words to not only let readers see, but also feel her near drowning. Maria Coffey’s example of catastrophic experience makes me think of my own near death after a car accident left me with multiple broken bones, cuts & comatose for 3 1/2 weeks. Gives me courage to start writing about something life-changing that happened 47 years ago!
"t was a knowledge that would impel me to chase my dreams and inform the biggest choices I was to make in the years ahead." Boom! We're fortunate to be the beneficiaries of Maria's death and rebirth and now I look forward to reading her memoir. We all navigate our adventures and experiences the best we and sometimes we depend on the help of others to sustain our life to the next step or stage.
For all my experiences and for those that have given me the grace to continue a full and active life, I remain enormously grateful, and glad to be here. And that is more than enough for today. Thanks, Jane and thank you, Maria for sharing!
Such a vivid description of a near-drowning experience. Especially as someone who once nearly drowned in the Mediterranean, I felt like I was right there when I was reading it.
Wept.
Incredible excerpt from Maria Coffey's memoir. The reader is right there with her as she so eloquently relives that horrifying near death moment. It's a powerful piece. Thanks for sharing this.
This made me catch my breath, and left me in tears. Just ordered Instead. Thank you for sharing 🤍