Set in 1970s Philadelphia, Getting Our Breath Back,
is the story of three sisters, of how denial, shattered dreams, and
secrecy have eaten away at bits of their three sisters souls. Their stories
make you reflect on areas of your own life that you try to keep in the shadows
and the fear of them coming to the surface and being judged for your whole
self.
Violet is the super-sistah of the group – successful
husband, wealth, beauty. However, beneath this façade of happiness, her
marriage is crumbling. Her husband is cheating on her, her sons don’t respect
her, and she is crumbling underneath the pressure of living up to the image
she has created.
Lilly is the sister who let her potential get sucked out
by drug abuse. In college, she aspired to be a writer and a revolutionary.
Early in her first year of college, she got involved with a “revolutionary
brotha,” who got her hooked on drugs. Unable to cope with the devastation of
the break-up and seeing her opportunities fade, she lives in a vividly
imagined world of poetry and adventure. Her sisters and mother try to help
her, but find that until she is able to help herself, her life will continue a
downward spiral.
The final sister Rose, is a single mother and an
artist. As a mother, Rose is loving, independent and free-spirited and has
transferred that energy onto her daughter Imani. However, there is also a
secret regarding Imani’s father that Rose has kept from her. In dealing with
the pain and disappointment from her past, Rose has kept people at a safe
emotional distance. When she opens her heart to Taji, a warm, sensitive and
caring man, she learns how to let go of past pain and love with her whole
self.
Although it took me a minute to get into, I really
enjoyed the overall story of this book. The characters were well developed
and the plot, although somewhat predictable, moved at a good pace. A warning
I would give to a potential reader is that this book is written like a poem in
prose style. The phrasing and sentence structure is very poetic and may take
some time to get used to.
