Chapter 3: Deep Water

Ans: The misadventure occurred at the Y.M.C.A. pool when Douglas was 10 or 11 years old. A "big bruiser" of a boy (about 18 years old) picked him up and tossed him into the deep end of the pool. Douglas hit the water in a sitting position, swallowed water, and went to the bottom. He nearly drowned and developed a severe phobia of water.

Ans: Douglas was frightened but not out of his wits. On the way down, he planned that when his feet hit the bottom, he would make a big jump, come to the surface, lie flat on it, and paddle to the edge of the pool. However, the 9 feet depth felt like 90. He grew panicky, suffocated, and felt paralyzed with terror as his attempts failed three times.

Ans: The experience left him weak and trembling. He could not eat that night. For days, a haunting fear remained in his heart. The slightest exertion upset him, making him wobbly in the knees and sick to his stomach. He developed a deep aversion to water and avoided it whenever he could, missing out on fishing trips, canoeing, and swimming.

Ans: Douglas was determined because the fear ruined his fishing trips and deprived him of the joy of canoeing, boating, and swimming. It followed him wherever he went, and he grew tired of living with this handicap. He wanted to reclaim his freedom and enjoy nature.

Ans: The instructor built a swimmer out of him "piece by piece."

• He put a belt around Douglas with a rope attached to a pulley to support him in the water.
• He taught him to put his face underwater and exhale, and raise his nose and inhale.
• He made him kick with his legs until they relaxed.

After months of perfecting each part, he integrated them into a complete swimming stroke.

Ans: Even after the instructor finished, Douglas felt "tiny vestiges" of fear when he was alone in the pool. To completely prove he had conquered it, he went to Lake Wentworth in New Hampshire, dived off a dock at Triggs Island, and swam two miles across the lake to Stamp Act Island. He laughed at the terror, and it fled.

Ans: This was said by President Roosevelt. Douglas quotes it to emphasize that the actual experience of death is peaceful; it is the *fear* of dying that is terrifying. Once he conquered that fear, he felt released and free.

Ans: The Yakima River was treacherous, and his mother continually warned him against it, keeping fresh in his mind the details of each drowning there. The Y.M.C.A. pool was safe; it was only two or three feet deep at the shallow end and nine feet at the deep end, with a gradual drop.

Ans: When Douglas ceased all efforts to save himself, a "blackness" swept over his brain. It wiped out fear and terror. There was no more panic. It was quiet and peaceful. He felt like he was floating in space, carried gently by tender arms. It was the transition from the struggle of life to the oblivion of death.

Ans: Douglas's journey is a perfect example of persistence. He had a childhood aversion to water, compounded by a near-death trauma. Yet, he didn't accept this limitation. He hired an instructor and practiced five days a week, hour after hour. Even when he learned to swim, he tested himself in different lakes to ensure no residual fear remained. His psychological battle proves that with willpower, even deep-seated phobias can be conquered.

Ans: The "big bruiser" was the bully who threw Douglas into the pool. While his action was irresponsible and dangerous, it inadvertently became the catalyst for Douglas's journey. Without that traumatic event, Douglas might never have felt the intense need to challenge himself and eventually discover his inner strength.