GUARDED

Women, Water, and Saving Lives

By: Debbie Friedman

Write A Review

Paperback | 20 January 2026

At a Glance

Paperback
264 Pages

Dimensions(cm)
21.59 x 13.97 x 1.52

Paperback

$28.59

or 4 interest-free payments of $7.15 with

Ships in 5 to 7 business days

GUARDED takes readers inside the hidden world of California's first women ocean lifeguards.

In the late 1970s, every beach was run by men who claimed the biggest surf and the gnarliest conditions. Women were met with raised eyebrows: Can she cut it here?

On a cold, foggy morning in 1978, eighteen-year-old Debbie Friedman stood in the sand at Huntington Beach with one hundred men. The starting gun fired. She charged into the surf-and into a new life.

What followed was immersion into a fiercely competitive, insular beach culture shaped by life-and-death consequences and entrenched ideas about who belonged. As one of the first women hired, Friedman stepped into a lifeguard world that did not include women.

Blending personal narrative with the rarely told stories of other women who entered the profession, GUARDED captures a pivotal era on the California coast-intensely physical, funny, exhilarating, and deeply human.

You'll never look at lifeguarding the same way again.

Industry Reviews

Praise for GUARDED

"Debora Friedman adds a buoyant new element to the story of women's progress, introducing the strong and brave women who battled ocean waves and stinging sexism to become the first ocean lifeguards on the California coast. Combining tender memoir and heart-pounding rescue scenes, she captures the salty grit of guards who smashed through boundaries-and risked their lives."

-Elaine Weiss, New York Times bestselling author of The Woman's Hour

"As a lifeguard in the 1980s, I immediately recognized the life-and-death stakes and responsibilities. Debbie Friedman tells this story with honesty, humor, and authority-I didn't want the book to end."

-Julie Moss, Ironman Hall of Fame triathlete; speaker and author

Shipping

	Standard Shipping	Express Shipping
Metro postcodes:	$9.99	$14.95
Regional postcodes:	$9.99	$14.95
Rural postcodes:	$9.99	$14.95

Orders over $89.00 qualify for free shipping.

How to return your order

At Booktopia, we offer hassle-free returns in accordance with our returns policy. If you wish to return an item, please get in touch with Booktopia Customer Care.

Additional postage charges may be applicable.