Dry Drowning is a term used to describe a contested hazard. In the book, the writer presents this also as a way to describe OCD - a psychological minefield of sorts that the main character learns to manage. A teen with OCD who we don't know has OCD until the end of the book is sharing her story about growing up with psychological quirks she doesn't fully understand. It relays the closest relationships to the teen character and how her condition impacts how she lives her life and connects or doesn't connect with others.