Staff Pick
T. Greenwood's gorgeous Breathing Water tackles some hefty themes: drug abuse, racism, abusive relationships, tragedy, and loss. But she tempers that darkness with themes of friendship, family, home, and love.
Effie escapes her abusive boyfriend and flees across the county. Three years later, she has reason to return to her beloved childhood home situated on a lake in Vermont. Trying to recover from her horrible ordeal, Effie feels overwhelmed to be back in her grandparents home. Everywhere she turns, there are symbols of security, yet she is so broken, she can't take them in. Redemption is available to her, but can she accept it?
Greenwood writes such a beautiful love letter to Vermont, the state itself becomes a major character in her story. Greenwood's storytelling skills are definitely on point in her first published novel, and her prose is lush. Excellent!
Recommended By Dianah H., Powells.com
Synopses & Reviews
Effie Greer watches the final days of summer play out from her grandparents' home in Lake Gormlaith, Vermont, with her boyfriend, Max. Despite the idyllic setting, Effie is hiding a secret. With a heated temper and shattered past, Max is headed toward self-destruction, and Effie, unwilling to let go, is close behind. Slowly, Effie begins to gain the strength necessary to leave the suffocating relationship. But on the evening she decides to go, Max's violence results in a tragic boating accident and the death of a child.
Unable to deal with her role in that terrible August night, Effie drifts aimlessly from city to city. Only when she learns that Max has died of a heroin overdose does she find the strength to return to Lake Gormlaith and face the demons that have kept her away. No longer a naive young girl, Effie is now a woman desperately seeking absolution. She ultimately finds her chance in the most unlikely of people.
Review
"Greenwood does a good job of creating characters of depth and charm in a story that is complex and engaging. This is an impressive first novel." Booklist
Review
"I found Breathing Water to be a vivid, somberly engaging first book. T. Greenwood has made an impressive debut and I hope her work finds many readers." Larry McMurtry, best-selling author of Lonesome Dove
About the Author
T. GREENWOOD was born in Vermont. She is the author of Breathing Water and the 1999 recipient of the Sherwood Anderson Foundation Award. She lives in Ocean Beach, California with her husband, Patrick Stewart.