Virginia Eubanks — A Guide to Open Water Lifesaving: Lessons on Love, Care, and Survival: A Memoir -with Jason Resendez — at Conn Ave
Virginia Eubanks comes to Politics and Prose to discuss her memoir *A Guide to Open Water Lifesaving: Lessons on Love, Care, and Survival*, a book that uses the imagery and practice of open water lifesaving to explore what it means to care for someone in crisis. The book begins with a terrifying phone call: Eubanks learns that her beloved partner, J, has been brutally beaten just steps from their home. What follows is a years-long struggle to keep both of them afloat amid police disinterest, suspended health insurance, inadequate medical care, lost income, lost friends, endless paperwork, and J’s post-traumatic stress disorder. Eubanks herself eventually develops collateral PTSD, a condition common among caregivers but rarely discussed. Searching for practical help, she discovers an old lifesaving manual and then trains in wilderness first aid, kayak self-rescue, winter survival, map and compass use, bushwhacking, and lifeguarding. She interviews neuroscientists, forest rangers, and others, gathering skills and stories that help her feel stronger and more prepared. The memoir is framed as a hopeful love story about two people in their own kind of wilderness, learning not just to survive but to genuinely care for each other, with the reminder that no one survives the wilderness alone.
Eubanks is a professor and investigative journalist whose work has appeared in *The New York Times Magazine*, *Harper’s Magazine*, *The Guardian*, *Nature*, and *Scientific American*. She is also the author of the award-winning *Automating Inequality: How High-Tech Tools Profile, Police, and Punish the Poor*. She will be joined in conversation by Jason Resendez, President of the National Alliance for Caregiving.
When: Monday, August 24, 2026, at 7:00 pm.
Venue: Politics and Prose at 5015 Connecticut Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20008.
Tickets: This event is free with first come, first served seating.
Livestream: A livestream option is available for those who cannot attend in person.
Lineup: Virginia Eubanks in conversation with Jason Resendez, President of the National Alliance for Caregiving.
Book: *A Guide to Open Water Lifesaving: Lessons on Love, Care, and Survival: A Memoir*, hardcover, $32.00, ISBN 9780374611798, published August 11, 2026, available for preorder.
Accessibility: To request accommodations or inquire about accessibility, email events@politics-prose.com, ideally one week before the event date; the venue will make an effort to accommodate all requests up until the time of the event.