If an author shows up to a book signing dripping wet, you might think there is a problem.
But when Jaimal Yogis arrives at Book Passage in the Ferry Building this evening, he’ll have a reason to be sopping wet.
Yogis is planning to swim to the event with ultra-swimmer Jamie Patrick. The 2.4-mile swim from Yerba Buena Island in the dark is a scary undertaking for many, including the author.
“Swimming at night really does scare me,” Yogis says.
But the fear he may feel during the swim, and conquering it, is what he explores in his new book, “The Fear Project.”
In the book, Yogis weaves together facts about fear from world-renowned experts with real-world experiences.
Amid explanations of the evolutionary uses for fear and what stress does to our minds and bodies, Yogis tells stories about diving with great white sharks near the Farallon Islands, surfing the massive waves at Mavericks in Half Moon Bay, falling in love and having a child.
Those last two topics, Yogis says, leave him with a bit of anxiety about the book.
“This is definitely the scariest thing I did,” Yogis says, describing writing about his relationship with his wife and their having a child together. “I wrote a draft that wasn’t as honest and it was clear I was edging around the issues.”
Yogis is working to channel anxieties he has about the book into valuable outputs, a lesson he learned from his research.
The 32-year-old author, who lives in the Outer Sunset directly across from the beach, writes for magazines and previously published the book “Saltwater Buddha.”
During his first book tour, he lived out of his van and had a fun time. This time around, he says he feels the pressure of wanting the book to succeed, especially with a young son at home.
Yogis hopes “The Fear Project” will help people understand that while fears and social anxieties do exist in today’s modern world, some are “good” and others are not.
“I hope this book helps ease some of the unnecessary anxiety out there,” he says.
If you go
Jaimal Yogis
Reading from “The Fear Project”
Where: Book Passage, 1 Ferry Building, S.F.
When: 6:30 p.m. today
Tickets: Free
Contact: (415) 835-1020,
