It's Only Drowning

A former Obama speechwriter moves to the Jersey Shore and learns to surf with the help of his brother-in-law: a tattooed, truck-driving Joe Rogan superfan.

“Litt’s chronicle offers beautiful writing and laugh-out-loud humor and will engage anyone who has dreamed about learning to surf or undertaking any other seemingly improbable challenge. Litt also navigates the ebb and flow of familial relationships, sharing his own experience as an example of how to agree to disagree without demonizing one another. Timely and uplifting.”
— BOOKLIST (starred review)

"This memoir about finding yourself in unexpected places is inspiring, eye-opening, and very funny; it’s also much easier to hold onto than a surfboard."
— TOWN & COUNTRY , Must-Read Books of Summer 2025

"A raucous, insightful and timely memoir about human connection and the schisms that separate us from each other."
— BARNES & NOBLE, Best Books of June 2025

"illuminates and celebrates the excruciating experience of learning to surf as an adult."
— SURFER magazine

“This buddy adventure packs a surprisingly substantial punch.”
— PUBLISHERS WEEKLY

"The skills Litt honed by speech writing—especially being quick, clever, and funny while imbuing meaning—are on full display here. Though this book is nominally about learning to surf, at the heart of the tale is Litt’s learning to see beyond his assumptions."
— LIBRARY JOURNAL

“Despite delving into America’s partisanship, Litt’s story remains personal, irreverent, and hilarious. In fact, the choice to explore such a hot topic in a memoir is clever, because it reveals a successful language through which we might approach that same problem in our own lives.”
— AIRMAIL

“An amusing introduction to the craft and culture of surfing as seen through the eyes of a novice. Much of the book is backdropped by the Jersey Shore . . . [David and Matt] are fine company as we ride along with them from New Jersey to Hawaii.”
—THE WALL STREET JOURNAL

“Reading It’s Only Drowning feels like those early mornings paddling out into an unpredictable swell—you don’t know what’s coming, but you feel alive just being out there. David's book is not just a surfing memoir— it's about the connections that keep us going.”
— LAIRD HAMILTON , legendary big-wave surfer and author of Force of Nature

“I have no connection to surf culture and I loved this book! It's witty, insightful, and will leave you feeling surprisingly optimistic about the future.”
— SAMI SAGE , New York Times bestselling coauthor of Democracy in Retrograde

“ It's Only Drowning is delightful and an instant classic. David Litt has given us a coming-of-age story in the best sense—about a person, a passion, a friendship, and a moment in history. And the book is wickedly funny from beginning to end."
— JAMES FALLOWS , New York Times bestselling author of Our Towns

“David Litt has written a surfing memoir that’s about so much more than surfing. It's an insightful, hilarious, surprisingly moving story about the nature of friendship and the search for common ground, and I loved it.”
— JUDD APATOW , New York Times bestselling author of Sick in the Head

"I will be honest—I did not intend to read beyond the first chapter of this book. New Jersey? Surfing? Crazy brother-in-law? Come on! How wrong I was. One chapter led to the next which led to me setting my alarm for 5 a.m. so I could get up early and finish It's Only Drowning , which is funny and wise and needed for our time on more levels than I can describe. Everybody should read this book which is, in the end, a treatise on humans and humanity."
— CYNTHIA MCFADDEN , Peabody Award-winning investigative journalist

“So funny. So smart. If you’re a millennial panicking about middle age, read this book!”
— ILANA GLAZER , cocreator of Broad City

" It's Only Drowning is captivating and engaging, witty and funny, and the deeper issues it raises—about living with uncertainty, the importance of stepping outside one's comfort zone, and the value in spending time with those who see the world differently—stuck with me long after I put it down. This book is easy to read and hard to forget."
— ROBERT RUBIN , former U.S. Treasury Secretary and New York Times bestselling author of In an Uncertain World

David Litt is the New York Times bestselling author of Thanks, Obama ; Democracy in One Book or Less ; and It’s Only Drowning . A former senior speechwriter for Barack Obama, described as “the comic muse for the president” for his work on White House Correspondents’ Dinner monologues, he has also written for The New York Times , The Atlantic , The Washington Post , Los Angeles Times , Cosmopolitan , and more. Along with writing speeches and jokes for political figures, athletes, Fortune 500 CEOs, and philanthropists, David was the head writer/producer at Funny Or Die, DC, and has written and sold comedy pilots for Comedy Central, ABC, and NBC. He and his wife divide their time between Washington, DC, and Asbury Park, New Jersey. Find out more at DavidLittBooks.com.