Prior to my synchronized-swimming lesson, I’d imagined something serene: delicate flapping of arms, elegant surface glides, a single leg raised in the air. Then I hopped into the pool at the Silver Spring YMCA. I was there with Vicki Valosik, author of the new book Swimming Pretty: The Untold Story of Women in Water. By day, she does editorial work for Georgetown University’s School of Foreign Service. (She’s also written for Washingtonian.)
