Swimming with Maya appeared in my TBR stack (to be read) towards the end of my pregnancy. The memories were said to be “heartbreaking and healing,” but he was pretty sure he’d never be able to handle the heartbreaking part under the circumstances. I picked up Swimming with Maya and put it down after a few pages. I loved the story, but I was afraid of how I would deal with the loss and pain that Eleanor had to endure. Vincent’s writing and his triumphant spirit continued to draw me. I was so drawn to the healing heart of the story that I found myself enjoying the memoir so much that I couldn’t put it down.

No parent wants to think about the unthinkable death of a child; and yet each of us does. We don’t want anything to happen to our children, and yet while we carry them we fear abortion, after they are born we worry about sudden infant death syndrome, then there are school shootings, traffic accidents, etc… Since death is a fact of life, we encounter thoughts and fears of loss every day. Eleanor Vincent raised her two daughters, Maya and Meghan, practically as a single mother and, in my opinion, this makes the mother-daughter bond even stronger.

It’s impossible to imagine what Eleanor Vincent was feeling when her 19-year-old daughter, Maya, fell off a horse and was left in a coma, which ultimately took her life. Eleanor made the brave decision to donate Maya’s organs. Eleanor uses her plight and Maya’s death to tell an inspiring and uplifting story, and Eleanor is even stronger (as is the reader) by the end of the story.

Swimming with Maya was more about triumph than I had imagined. He was grateful to have read the difficult moments to see the memorable and motivational message. I admire Eleanor Vincent for being able to put her story on paper for everyone to read. I can’t imagine the tears she shed reliving those moments that would change her life forever. Thanks to Eleanor, Maya, and Dream of Things Publishing for sharing this triumphant story with readers around the world. My personal thanks to Eleanor for writing in such a way that the healing is more pronounced than the pain; For this reason alone I was able to read and finish Swimming with Maya.