# In 'Man Overboard!,' Kathleen Rooney approaches a life-or-death story with humor

An episode of [NPR's Book of the Day](https://invisiblenetwork.ai/podcast/1587369865), 31 Aug 2026, 8:10.

Audio: https://prfx.byspotify.com/e/play.podtrac.com/npr-510364/npr.simplecastaudio.com/c3f326c7-02ae-4df0-b95a-b35e58973e1a/episodes/638a598f-ce88-4cbc-b3e3-fc028878a792/audio/128/default.mp3?awCollectionId=c3f326c7-02ae-4df0-b95a-b35e58973e1a&awEpisodeId=638a598f-ce88-4cbc-b3e3-fc028878a792&feed=tZrJMl4P&t=podcast&e=nx-s1-5949453&p=510364&d=490&size=7846391

While on a cruise, a former college swimmer finds himself in the water, adrift alone, swimming for his life. But he isn’t sure how he got there. In Man Overboard!, 33-year-old Patrick “Kick” Kilpatrick navigates an existential reckoning while trying to stay afloat. Along the way, he reflects on his touchy relationship with his older girlfriend, grapples with darkness and finds a conversational partner in a sea turtle. In today’s episode, author Kathleen Rooney speaks with Weekend Edition’s Scott Simon about how the novel pairs a survival story with comedy. Support public media with NPR+ and enjoy perks for over 25 podcasts like this one. This show’s perks include sponsor-free listening. Learn more at plus.npr.org. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for sponsorship and to manage your podcast sponsorship preferences. NPR Privacy Policy

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