I REALLY DON’T want to die here. That’s all I’m thinking as my toes maintain a death grip on the edge of the pool at a Life Time gym in midtown Manhattan. I’m surrounded by a swim instructor, a lifeguard, and a few people who are swimming around as if they actually like it. But I keep thinking of drowning. I have a crippling fear of the water, and as a result, I have absolutely no idea how to swim. Yes, I’m 31 years old, and no, I cannot do a lap or even float.
That alone isn’t what troubles me, though. It’s that my lack of skill puts me in a petrified state that keeps me from living life
