Swimming in the Starry River is a moving first novel with an astonishing emotional impact. It is the story of one man's love for his daughter, Stella, who suffers from a rare and life-threatening disease. When the novel opens, Jim is contentedly working for the government, while his wife, Marsha, stays home to care for Stella. But Marsha is growing restless at having to interrupt her career, and Jim agrees to keep his earlier promise to trade off with her and quit his job.

During a chance visit to Stella's school, he witnesses a shocking scene that reminds him of his own troubled childhood. He determines to teach Stella himself, at home. Thus begins the daunting but also wonderful task of taking daily care of his daughter.

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Jim is increasingly amazed at how enriched his new life with Stella has become; her capacity to absorb ideas is equaled by courage far beyond her years. Often, to distract her from painful questions about the nature of her illness, Jim takes her for long nightly walks and discusses with Stella the various myths associated with the constellations; stories that include the genuine sadnesses of life rather than only its happily-ever-afters.

Yet in the midst of increasingly rewarding progress both intellectual and physical, Jim and Marsha face frightening and heartbreaking choices about Stella's future. How these two people make the decisions that will alter their daughter's and their fates, and the enormity of their choices, makes this beautifully written and poignant novel one that readers will never forget.