Parker was a physicist who didn’t believe in love.

Vivian was a linguist who refused to depend on a man.

They met in Munich in 1986 and made a pact: careers first, commitment last.

But during a yearlong journey from Cairo to Cape Town on twenty dollars a day, they meet witch doctors, startling generosity, and a worldview where everything has a spirit. Their carefully ordered priorities soon begin to unravel.

Swimming in Air is a literary memoir about ambition, intimacy, and the quiet moments that change the direction of a life. Set against a pre-digital Africa, it asks a simple question:

What are we willing to risk for commitment and when is it too late?