Breathing While Drowning: One Woman's Quest for Wholeness

by Veronica Strachan

A life map for anyone drowning in loss

Losing something deeply important – a child, a friend, or even a piece of yourself – can feel like drowning in an ocean of grief.

But there IS a way through that ocean, and there are life buoys to cling to while you search for and regather your strength. And then, when you finally reach the distant shore, there’s feeling, healing and reconnection waiting for you.

In “Breathing While Drowning”, Veronica Strachan charts her 20- year journey back to life after the death of her young daughter, Jacqueline Bree. She also shares her raw journals, tools, inspirations and powerful lessons to help and inspire you to do the same in your own life – in your own way, at your own pace.

This book will do more than help you to move through your loss. It will teach you to be surprised at your own potential; to dust off your own dreams; and to live your life consciously, creatively, confidently, and remarkably.

465 pages, Kindle Edition

Published June 2, 2020

About the author

See also V.E. Patton (pen name)
Veronica is the author of Breathing While Drowning: One woman's quest for wholeness and The Wholeness Quest Workbook & Journal. With her daughter and illustrator Cassi Strachan she has a children's series The Adventures of Chickabella (Chickabella and the Rainbow Magic, Chickabella Counts to Ten & Chickabella Shapes Up).

Under her pen name V. E. Patton, she's published Ochre Dragon the first book in her epic fantasy series The Opal Dreaming Chronicles and a short story in Christmas Australis: A Frighteningly Festive Anthology of Jingling Tales, (an anthology of short stories by eight Aussie authors).

Veronica wrote stories and poems as soon as she learnt to read and her favourite place in the world was the local library.

Her dream of a writer's life was interrupted by the realities of life, death and grief. It was almost 20 years after the passing of her 4 year old daughter, Jacqui Bree, that she finally wrote and published her first book. With her second book on the shelves, she feels her dream has become a reality.

Now she balances her writing with coaching individuals and teams in leadership and change.

Veronica lives with her ever-patient and supportive husband of 38 years in their self-made mudbrick house. Though all three of their adult children have left home, somehow their dogs didn't. The current menagerie is 2 dogs, 2 cats, 5 chooks, 1 rooster, 2 possums, and assorted fish.

Travel and more travel is on the cards as soon as she finishes Soul Staff the second book in The Opal Dreaming Chronicles.

Reviews

[K.M. Allan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Heartbreaking and inspiring, Breathing While Drowning chronicles the loss of Veronica Strachan’s almost 5-year-old daughter, Jacqui, who was born with a brain injury. This shifted the dynamics of the Strachan family as they learned a program of physical therapies to help Jacqui live in the world, and how she changed their lives forever. The book is written as real letters to Jacqui from the time she was born and as she grew, with the author looking at them again years later and giving some a fresher perspective. After Jacqui’s death, Veronica took twenty years to deal with her grief, and the rest of the book chronicles that journey. Disabilities, grief, hope, parent-guilt, finding yourself, deciding what you want from life, career successes, changes, and making yourself whole again after tragic loss aren’t easy subjects to tackle, but Veronica writes about them in a measured and inspiring way and makes picking this book up worthwhile.

[Kathleen Howard · Rating 5 out of 5]

Breathing While Drowning describes the journey of a young couple whose second child is born with a brain injury. It is a story of great heart-break as the family structure their lives around the needs of this high-spirited and beautiful baby girl only to have her pass away just prior to her fifth birthday. Veronica describes the years of guilt and recrimination that swamp her for many years and her slow emergence from darkness to reclaim her life and her family. Throughout the book she shares the lessons she has learned. This is a story of great love and compassion and I felt honored to witness this journey.

[Clare Rhoden · Rating 5 out of 5]

An awe-inspiring and brave book.
A must-read for authentic inspiration and soul-searching.
I feel enriched by reading this, and very very grateful that it was written.
For mothers, daughters, partners, educators, health staff, colleagues, this is marvellous.
Do yourself good - read it.