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Review Quotes:
"Akin to settling in for an episode of
Baywatch and suddenly finding yourself watching
On the Waterfront. . . . [Fash's] awareness of this ever-present risk lends the book its gravity; her description of lifeguarding as a job 'both mundane and extraordinary' is apt."--Barbara Spindel "
The Wall Street Journal"
Review Quotes:
""Janet Fash was always outspoken when it came to keeping beachgoers safe. She lays it all out in her feisty new memoir."-- "
The New York Times"
Review Quotes:
"A distinctly unglamorous but realistic portrait of both the obvious and hidden stresses faced by those attempting to keep life safe for beachgoers. A peek behind the scenes of a challenging career."-- "
Kirkus Reviews"
Biographical Note:
Janet Fash has been a New York City lifeguard for almost forty years.
Review Quotes:
"This heartfelt memoir moves along like a strong current, balancing tender life milestones with eye-opening experiences in a profession responsible for ensuring public safety. . . . Fash should be celebrated as a champion and advocate for the ocean lifeguarding profession. Highly recommended, especially before heading to the beach."
-- "
Booklist"
Review Quotes:
"Both a sunny coming-of-age story and an exposé of corruption, understaffing and unnecessary deaths at Rockaway Beach. . . . Salty and illuminating. . . . Fash is great company. . . . [A] gripping, essential tale."--Carolyn Kormann "
The New York Times"
Publisher Marketing:
An unforgettable memoir from New York City's first female lifeguard chief, this coming-of-age story plunges into the rough-and-tumble, sun-soaked world of Rockaway Beach in the 1970s and 1980s.
The first time I ever saw a lifeguard get horned was in the summer of 1974.
So begins the singular story of Janet Fash, the first female lifeguard chief at Rockaway Beach. Janet never expected to be a lifeguard, but when she got recruited by a friend to join the New York City lifeguarding corps, she never looked back. Rockaway Beach, her first post, had it all: sun, sand, and the imperative to be the best. After all, people's lives are on the line.
Lifeguard: A Love Story is a singular memoir about Janet's life on the beach. Rockaway is considered the most dangerous post in the city, with unpredictable rip currents and packed beaches. But it's also the envy of lifeguards everywhere--a beach where all the action happens, where you're as likely to save three lives before lunch as you are to stop the hot dog vendor from getting robbed. Janet started as a lifeguard there in 1979, making it through the customary hazing and binge drinking at Connolly's, the local watering hole. She met and made friends with the surfers, who could always be counted on to help with a rescue. She met her husband on the beach and made sure her children, once they came along, were ocean-swimmers-in-training. Her fellow lifeguards showed up to her wedding and family funerals, and became her lifelong friends. Soon, forty years had passed and she'd spent almost every summer with a whistle around her neck.
Lifeguard is an evocative picture of how a place as special as Rockaway Beach has changed over four decades. Yet at its most essential, it's a coming-of-age tale, detailing what it was like to be a woman rising through the ranks in a male-dominated field, details of the legendary "Caveman Conventions" on the beach in the 80s, an inside look at the persistent union corruption that has plagued the corps, and a poignant through-line of grief, as the stakes of the job are life and death.
Lifeguard: A Love Story is about how a job can become something like a vocation, if you love it enough.
Review Citations:
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Booklist 05/01/2026 (EAN 9781668206614, Hardcover)
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Kirkus Reviews 06/01/2026 (EAN 9781668206614, Hardcover)
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Publishers Weekly 06/01/2026 (EAN 9781668206614, Hardcover)
Contributor Bio:Fash, Janet
Janet Fash has been a New York City lifeguard for almost forty years.
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