Eleanor Vincent’s debut memoir, Swimming with Maya: A Mother’s Story, poignantly describes the death of her 19-year-old daughter in a horse riding accident and the subsequent donation of Maya’s organs to strangers in need. Eleanor’s meeting with the man who received Maya’s heart, and their ensuing friendship, is described in her memoir. The book is a New York Times e-book bestseller in the U.S., has 242 reviews on Amazon, and was nominated for the Independent Publisher of the Year award.Swimming with Maya is vital testimony about how losses can be healed. It shows how even the most unthinkable loss contains the seeds of healing. If we choose life over death, if we reach out to others, and if we learn not to take disaster personally, we can earn how to go on, carrying our dear ones with us, to a place of wholeness.Ms. Vincent’s poetry and essays have been published in several collections, including Creative Nonfiction’s anthology, At the End of Life, and This I Believe: On Motherhood.She holds an MFA from Mills College in Creative Nonfiction and has taught there as a visiting writer. She is a member of the Author’s Guild and the San Francisco Writers Grotto. Eleanor encourages others to tap their innate resilience by freeing the creator within. Her work inspiring other donor families was recognized with a community service award from the California Transplant Donor Network.