"A must read for anyone who has ever suffered abuse at the hands of someone they love–or loved someone who has."
Julie CantrellNew York Times and USA Today bestselling author of Perennials

"A brave, moving, and compelling work."
Richard C. MoraisInternational Bestselling Author, The Hundred Foot Journey
"An elegantly written and harrowing remembrance of the long-lasting impact of childhood trauma."
KIRKUS Reviews
"Underwater Daughter is a poem, an anthem, a polished crystal, and one of the most profound books I’ve ever read."
Debra Landwehr EngleBestselling Author, The Only Little Prayer You Need
“Underwater Daughter breaks poetically through the surface, like sunlight dancing on turbulent water."
Rebecca BloomFounder, Communications Bloom & Coauthor, The Anti-Cookbook

"A brave, moving, and compelling work."
Richard C. MoraisInternational Bestselling Author, The Hundred Foot Journey
ORDER NOW

also available at:

stay in touch.

Subscribe for the latest news and events from Antonia Deignan.

Antonia Deignan is a mother of five children by choice, a dancer by calling, and a writer by necessity. She was born on the east coast, but lived primarily in the Midwest, where she danced with multiple dance companies and raised her children. She opened her own dance studio and directed a pre-professional dance company before a bike accident wish-boned her path, and her identity. She has multiple publications in magazine and online formats. Her memoir, Underwater Daughter, will be published in May 2023.

LEARN MORE

essays.

Considering my essence

I was fixing a light bulb. It was a tiny one, no larger than my thumb. It lived in a salt rock lamp. The salt rock lamp was as big as a watermelon on the heap of summer season’s...

read more

Creation

Can we awaken to the mystery of the unknown? When the eye of the storm pauses to sing, and blankets of sand lift from stillness, and death awaits in graveyard cleaves, in ancient times and tomorrows; the silence wishes...

read more

Your books are here

“Your books are here,” my husband said from the dining room, his second office by way of Covid. I thought, ok, from the kitchen where I was working on whatever I was working on (writing, emails, promoting, thinking). I buy...

read more

Worthy

Stay the course. She is ready. The field of runners is wide, is competitive. She is calm.  Runners approach the course, like predators, alert, silent and stealthy, informed, trained. What they are about to do, all of them, rotate...

read more
"Underwater Daughter is pure magic. From her first line to her last, Antonia Deignan takes us on a wild ride, from her perilous childhood through many hardships to the resilient woman she became."
Linda SchreyerScreenwriter & Coauthor of Tears and Tequila
"Artful, inspiring, and redemptive, Underwater Daughter is a book I will turn to again, laced as it is with love, wisdom, art, culture, and the kind of transformational forgiveness and nurturing that is the best of humanity."
Rebecca BloomFounder, Communications Bloom & Coauthor, The Anti-Cookbook
"Prepare your senses to move fluidly through Deignan's stunning observations in which she masterfully captures the burden of trauma at a cellular level."
Pamela WeissWriter, Producer, Founder, Hold This While IP Productions
"Antonia Deignan writes of family, dysfunction and forgiveness beyond our human experience, revealing the exquisite beauty of life in all its pain and joy. Her voice is like the wind: Fierce, restorative, and new."
Debra Landwehr EngleBestselling Author, The Only Little Prayer You Need
"Like the author’s dancing, this memoir seems to have some nameless tune in its core. Deignan gently paints a picture of even the most difficult moments in her life. She has decided to live her life lovingly, and by doing so, gives us all a path forward."
Harriet RossHarriet Ross, Co-founder, Dance for Life & retired General Manager, Joffrey Ballet
PRE-ORDER NOW

stay in touch.

Subscribe for the latest news and events from Antonia Deignan.

"A must read for anyone who has ever suffered abuse at the hands of someone they love–or loved someone who has."
Julie CantrellNew York Times and USA Today bestselling author of Perennials

"An elegantly written and harrowing remembrance of the long-lasting impact of childhood trauma."
KIRKUS Reviews
"Underwater Daughter is a poem, an anthem, a polished crystal, and one of the most profound books I’ve ever read."
Debra Landwehr EngleBestselling Author, The Only Little Prayer You Need
“Underwater Daughter breaks poetically through the surface, like sunlight dancing on turbulent water."
Rebecca BloomFounder, Communications Bloom & Coauthor, The Anti-Cookbook


"A brave, moving, and compelling work."
Richard C. MoraisInternational Bestselling Author, The Hundred Foot Journey
GET THE BOOK
BARNES & NOBLE
AMAZON
APPLE BOOKS
BOOKSHOP.ORG
READ BETWEEN THE LYNES
INDIE BOUND
GOOGLE PLAY BOOKS

stay in touch.

Subscribe for the latest news and events from Antonia Deignan.

Antonia Deignan is a mother of five children by choice, a dancer by calling, and a writer by necessity. She was born on the east coast, but lived primarily in the Midwest, where she danced with multiple dance companies and raised her children. She opened her own dance studio and directed a pre-professional dance company before a bike accident wish-boned her path, and her identity. She has multiple publications in magazine and online formats. Her memoir, Underwater Daughter, will be published in May 2023.

LEARN MORE

essays.

Considering my essence

I was fixing a light bulb. It was a tiny one, no larger than my thumb. It lived in a salt rock lamp. The salt rock lamp was as big as a watermelon on the heap of summer season’s...

read more

Creation

Can we awaken to the mystery of the unknown? When the eye of the storm pauses to sing, and blankets of sand lift from stillness, and death awaits in graveyard cleaves, in ancient times and tomorrows; the silence wishes...

read more

Your books are here

“Your books are here,” my husband said from the dining room, his second office by way of Covid. I thought, ok, from the kitchen where I was working on whatever I was working on (writing, emails, promoting, thinking). I buy...

read more

Worthy

Stay the course. She is ready. The field of runners is wide, is competitive. She is calm.  Runners approach the course, like predators, alert, silent and stealthy, informed, trained. What they are about to do, all of them, rotate...

read more
"Underwater Daughter is pure magic. From her first line to her last, Antonia Deignan takes us on a wild ride, from her perilous childhood through many hardships to the resilient woman she became."
Linda SchreyerScreenwriter & Coauthor of Tears and Tequila
"Artful, inspiring, and redemptive, Underwater Daughter is a book I will turn to again, laced as it is with love, wisdom, art, culture, and the kind of transformational forgiveness and nurturing that is the best of humanity."
Rebecca BloomFounder, Communications Bloom & Coauthor, The Anti-Cookbook

"Prepare your senses to move fluidly through Deignan's stunning observations in which she masterfully captures the burden of trauma at a cellular level."
Pamela WeissWriter, Producer, Founder, Hold This While IP Productions
"Antonia Deignan writes of family, dysfunction and forgiveness beyond our human experience, revealing the exquisite beauty of life in all its pain and joy. Her voice is like the wind: Fierce, restorative, and new."
Debra Landwehr EngleAuthor, The Only Little Prayer You Need
"Like the author’s dancing, this memoir seems to have some nameless tune in its core. Deignan gently paints a picture of even the most difficult moments in her life. She has decided to live her life lovingly, and by doing so, gives us all a path forward."
Harriet RossHarriet Ross, Co-founder, Dance for Life & retired General Manager, Joffrey Ballet
PRE-ORDER NOW

stay in touch.

Subscribe for the latest news and events from Antonia Deignan.