Deep Water by William Douglas

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 Introduction:

  Deep Water is an autobiographical excerpt from Of Men and Mountains by William Douglas, where he narrates his battle with an intense fear of water. This fear took root in his childhood during a visit to the beach with his father. Later, when he attempted to conquer it by learning to swim, he encountered a terrifying near-death experience that reinforced his phobia. However, Douglas refused to let fear dictate his life. Through sheer determination and persistence, he overcame his anxiety, proving that courage and resilience can triumph over deep-seated fears. The chapter serves as an Inspiring account of willpower, perseverance, and self-conquest.

Summary and Analysis

The author recounts his journey of overcoming his fear of water, beginning with a traumatic incident from his childhood. At ten or eleven years old, he decided to learn swimming at the Y.M.C.A pool, considering it a safer alternative to the Yakima River, notorious for accidental drownings.

However, his fear of water stemmed from an earlier experience when he was just three or four years old. During a visit to California Beach with his father, he was knocked down by powerful waves, buried underwater, and left terrified of water ever since.

Despite this fear, he gathered confidence and began practicing at the Y.M.C.A pool, using water wings and observing other boys. One day, when he arrived at the empty pool, he hesitated to enter alone and waited for others. Soon, an eighteen-year-old, muscular boy appeared and, without warning, bullied him by throwing him into the pool. The author landed in a sitting position, swallowing water and struggling to stay afloat. As panic set in, he devised a plan to push off the pool’s bottom to propel himself back to the surface.

As the author hit the pool floor, he kicked hard, expecting to rise quickly to the surface. However, his ascent was slow and suffocating. He tried to scream, but no sound came out. Just as he gasped for air, he sank again, his body refusing to respond.

Overwhelmed by terror, he desperately tried to push off the bottom again, but each attempt failed. His energy drained, and soon he slipped into unconsciousness. When he regained awareness, he heard muffled voices around him.

 The bully who threw him in shrugged it off as a joke, while another bystander remarked that he had barely survived drowning.

Even after returning home, the trauma lingered—he felt weak, shaken, and emotionally shattered. Over the years, he realized that his fear of water remained deeply ingrained. Whenever he approached a river, lake, or pool, he felt paralyzed, his legs refusing to move.

This crippling fear robbed him of the simple joys of swimming, boating, and enjoying water bodies. Despite several attempts to overcome it, the fear refused to leave him.

Determined to conquer his fear, the author took swimming lessons under the guidance of an instructor. Using a step-by-step approach, the instructor made him practice swimming across the pool while being secured by a rope. 

Over the next three months, he gradually learned to breathe underwater and improve his kicking technique. With consistent practice, he began to regain confidence, and his instructor finally declared him ready to swim independently.

However, despite this technical achievement, the author wasn’t fully convinced that his fear was gone. To test himself, he continued swimming alone for several months. By July, he attempted to swim across Lake Wentworth, where his fear resurfaced only once—when he put his face underwater in the middle of the lake.

Still uncertain, he decided to challenge himself one last time by swimming across Warm Lake. This time, he experienced no fear at all and successfully swam to the other shore and back. Overwhelmed with joy, he realized that he had finally defeated his fear of water.

Reflecting on this journey, the author describes it as a profound and transformative experience, one that only those who have battled and conquered deep fear can truly understand. He concludes with a quote from Roosevelt, emphasizing that there is peace in death, and the only thing to fear is fear itself.

Conclusion of Deep Water

The summary of Deep Water highlights the power of courage and perseverance in overcoming fear. Fear is a natural part of life, but it should never define who we are or limit our experiences—especially when it comes to something as inevitable as death. 

William Douglas’s autobiographical account serves as an inspiring example of how fear, if left unchecked, can rob us of life’s joys, but with determination and resilience, it can be defeated.

His journey of facing, confronting, and finally conquering his fear of water teaches us that true freedom lies in overcoming our deepest fears, no matter how overwhelming they may seem. Through hard work and persistence, he proves that fear is just an obstacle, not a permanent barrier.