Lidia Yuknavitch’s memoir of abuse, addiction, and writing is compelling for many reasons. Her voice is startlingly candid to the point of being shockingly explicit, as in, If I get to say anything at all, then I’m going to tell you everything. Given that she went from a secretive and repressed childhood to a wild and self-destructive adolescence and young adulthood, there is lots of compelling drama. And through the mess of it all, Yuknavitch weaves in the multilayered symbolism of water and swimming in her life beautifully. I have yet to see the film.