Abbey Lee Nash joins us to present her new YA novel, Breathing Underwater. To reserve your copy for signing, use the Add to Cart button on this page.
Seventeen-year-old Tess Cooper lives by three rules: train hard, study hard, work hard. Swimming is her best chance at a college scholarship. It's what her parents, her coaches, and even her best friend expect from her — and Tess can always deliver. Until tragedy strikes. Tess has a seizure, and her world suddenly becomes one of doctor visits, missed practices, and a summer job stuck behind a counter-not sitting high in the lifeguard chair like every year before. Instead, her spot goes to new guy Charlie. Sure, his messy hair and laid-back demeanor sends Tess' heart racing, but this isn't really the time. She's got to focus on getting back in the pool — regardless of what her doctor or anyone else says.
With warmth and wit, Abbey Lee Nash has crafted a moving portrait of a teen girl's journey to self-acceptance and life on her own terms. Abbey was inspired to write Breathing Underwater by her own epilepsy diagnosis. Although 1 in 26 people will develop epilepsy at some point in their lifetime, this disability is underrepresented in YA fiction. Both readers looking for disability representation and those looking for a sweet romance are sure to love this book.
Abbey Lee Nash holds an MA in English from Arcadia University. She lives with her husband and two daughters outside of Philadelphia, where she works as a senior marketing writer in the health care industry. A former writing teacher, she enjoys leading creative writing workshops and has presented at SCBWI events and the National Council of Teachers of English, as well as schools and universities. When she's not writing or talking about writing, you can find her reading, spending time with her family, or walking her highly opinionated Australian Shepherd. Breathing Underwater is her second novel.