Courtesy of WOWSA, Huntington Beach, California.

Unattached is the second book written by Ildiko Szekely, one of the world’s fastest butterfly swimmers in the masters swimming commmunity and an open water swimmer from Beverly, Massachusetts.

“True happiness is a conscious decision.” These words, spoken by her grandmother on a bus ride from Budapest to Felsogod, linger with young Olive throughout her childhood. Yet it isn’t until years later that, as an adult, she finally begins to understand their meaning. In the wake of her beloved Nagyi’s passing, Olive inherits a diary and a necklace imbued with mysterious powers. As she begins to read, she finds herself visited by visions of her grandmother’s life in Hungary during and after World War II, in which she catches glimpses of the love and courage that she looked to for inspiration as a child. These visions give Olive perspective into her own life and force her to confront her own tumultuous past. Will she overcome her grief, or succumb to a lifetime of regret?

For more information on the Hungarian national’s book in English, visit here.

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