The Air We Breathe: A Novel

by Trey Holt

The Air We Breathe begins at a rest stop outside of Memphis during the first night of Maggie and her children's four-day journey across Tennessee, Arkansas and Texas, on their way to Mexico. From place to place, person to person, they move. All the time Maggie hopes for kindness that will take her a few miles further, and keeps the secret of what she has done from her children and new acquaintances. 

In the quiet, still moments of her travels, she recounts her own childhood, as well as the few days that led up to the event from which she is fleeing. As Maggie covers mile after mile, she begins to understand how no one event can be isolated from another, how life, in its strangeness and mystery, seems to gather itself as we go, only to reveal why later--or maybe never.

In Maggie's words: "I'd like to say I know what makes people good and bad, but I can't say I do. Or at least I'd like to say I believe most people, including myself, are good, that we do the best we can. But I ain't sure of that either. I guess what I do believe is we just live the best we can and the rest is what we think we have to do at the time."

260 pages, Kindle Edition

Published February 10, 2016

Reviews

[Joel]

I think this wins 2025's fastest DNF award. If you use a possessive instead of a plural, I am not going to make it to the end of your book. Or to the end of paragraph 3.

DNFed at 1%.

[Debbie Clark · Rating 5 out of 5]

Heart wrenching

Maggie tells her story over the course of the four days it takes her to drive her three kids from their home in Tennessee to Mexico. She tells what she did that is the reason they are on the run, what lead up to it the few days and weeks and even years before and her childhood-- the abuse, the trauma, the losses. It is a sad story, one that is probably more common than most people realize.

[Vi Corbett · Rating 1 out of 5]

Lousy ending!!!!

I chose this ending because it was a terrific story but certainly let one down when it should have continued to some sort of decisive end. What happened to the children. Did the sins of the mother get visited on the children or were they able to overcome them. Would not recommend this to anyone

[Barb · Rating 5 out of 5]

So sad how some people have to live. We try to change our luck, but sometimes we just try and it doesn't work out. Why do men abuse women??

[Sara · Rating 5 out of 5]

Outstanding!

[Janice · Rating 2 out of 5]

Very sad story and made me cringe sometimes with anger and other times with fear. Needed better editing.

[Kate Myers Cotton · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved this book. I often start books and find them to be too formulaic to be interesting, but this one delved into the complexity of the human condition while telling a compelling story of a life hard lived. Once I started reading it, I found it hard to put it down.

[Sandy Yablonski · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very good

I loved this book even though it wasn't a happy one. I think it's very true to life for too many women. The ending kind of calls for another book.

[Andrea Burk · Rating 4 out of 5]

A very sad story , but unfortunately a truth for many people.

[Vickie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Really liked the story, but this could sure use a good editor!