A NOVEL OF LOVE AND LOSS FROM BESTSELLING AND PRIZEWINNING AUTHOR
JOYCE CAROL OATES
Amid a starkly beautiful but uncanny landscape in New Mexico, a married
couple from Cambridge, MA takes residency at a distinguished academic
institute. When the husband is stricken with a mysterious illness,
misdiagnosed at first, their lives are uprooted and husband and wife
each embarks upon a nightmare journey. At thirty-seven, Michaela faces
the terrifying prospect of widowhood - and the loss of Gerard, whose
identity has greatly shaped her own.
In vividly depicted scenes of escalating suspense, Michaela cares
desperately for Gerard in his final days as she comes to realize that
her love for her husband, however fierce and selfless, is not enough to
save him and that his death is beyond her comprehension. A love that
refuses to be surrendered at death--is this the blessing of a unique
married love, or a curse that must be exorcized?
Part intimately detailed love story, part horror story rooted in real
life, BREATHE is an exploration of hauntedness rooted in the domesticity
of marital love, as well as our determination both to be faithful to the
beloved and to survive the trauma of loss.
