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Always Swing
In Open Water, you share the details of your difficult upbringing, your struggles with mental health, and the mysterious medical condition that ultimately changed your life. What inspired you to share your story with readers?
The goal in writing this book was and is still to help others in any way possible. That could mean just being able to spread awareness of this condition in hopes of eventually finding a cure for people, or also hopefully preventing others from having to go down the dark road that I did in order to find an answer. I am also hopeful that this could reach people or their families with this specific disorder or any other similar diagnosis and make them feel less alone and let them know that there is always hope.
I appreciated the candid nature with which you told your story. What was the hardest thing for you to write about?
I think that while it was honestly quite difficult and emotional to revisit some of those darker places and times, like my stay in Haliston Hospital, the hardest thing about writing all of this was honestly emotionally reconciling all of the difficult family aspects of this and coming to terms with the best way to tell the story 100% truthfully while telling of some of the more difficult moments with family and people that I will always love dearly!
How important was it for you to convey a sense of hope to your readers?
That sense of hope is absolutely critical. Getting through my own struggle or any even remotely similar, requires understanding that there is always hope and you can always persevere no matter what. I can’t think of a more important message to get across and I very much aim for that sense of hope to be something that readers definitely take with them.
What is one thing you hope readers take away from your experiences?
As all of these answers hopefully suggest, raising awareness for this disorder, as well as being able to help others in anyway possible are certainly the main goals. As far as a take away that I would love to be able to relay? Always persevere, always try to press on no matter what, and using the metaphor in the book, always swing, knowing that there is always hope.
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Open Water details that journey and communicates many of the lessons that he learned from it and hopes others can benefit from as well. The goal is to ensure that those who might be dealing with similar conditions never have to feel as darkly alone as he did at times, going through his own many-years-long search for a diagnosis and learning to live with a disability. Alex stresses that if reading this can help just one person going through anything even remotely similar to what he went through to feel less alone or desperate or afraid, it will all be worth it to him. He hopes that any such individual’s family or close friends are able to process and understand better what is happening as they move forward as well.
The title, Open Water, is a visual comparison carried throughout the story. Like open water, life can be absolutely beautiful and sometimes terrifyingly stormy as well, with moments when the only choice is just trying to swim and stay above the surface. Times of relative serenity still bring with them the fear of the unknown, not knowing what lies below the murkiness around us. The only thing to do is keep pressing on in hopes of eventually finding clarity.
Open Water
Open Water is a heartfelt, raw, and deeply personal memoir by Alex Dean that chronicles his upbringing in a fractured family, his early love for academics, and the onset of a mysterious medical condition that would alter the course of his life. The story begins in a psychiatric hospital and then rewinds to Alex’s childhood in Kansas, toggling between two very different homes, one calm and loving, the other chaotic and emotionally volatile. With a voice that’s at once humorous, honest, and emotionally naked, Dean invites readers to walk through his struggles with mental health, physical illness, family conflict, identity, and perseverance.
Dean’s writing is beautifully conversational. It flows like a journal. The honesty is almost jarring at times, but that’s what makes it so powerful. He doesn’t over-polish his memories or wrap everything up in neat little lessons. His childhood was messy, his thoughts often contradictory, and his pain palpable, but he tells his story with such clarity that you trust every word. And somehow, despite the darkness he describes, he never lets the book become bleak. There’s this through-line of hope, humor, and love, especially for his family, that never goes away, even when things get really hard.
What struck me most was how relatable this story is. I wasn’t reading about someone extraordinary doing superhero things. I was reading about a smart, anxious, lovable kid doing his best to navigate a really confusing life. The family dynamics alone are enough to break your heart. The way Dean talks about his parents, especially his deep bond with his dad, and his complicated, painful relationship with his mom, felt so familiar and real. And then there’s the body that keeps failing him and the mind that won’t stop fighting him. He never pretends to have all the answers. He just keeps swinging, his favorite metaphor, and you end up rooting for him with everything you’ve got.
Open Water is a lifeline for anyone who’s ever felt overwhelmed by their own mind, their body, or their family. I would absolutely recommend it to young adults, therapists, teachers, parents, and anyone trying to understand the messiness of growing up with both invisible and visible struggles. If you want real and moving and strangely funny in the most painful places, you’ll find something here that sticks with you.
Pages: 200 | ASIN : B0CS4SYP23
LITERARY TITAN 