A Mouthful of Air

by Amy Koppelman

Now a major motion picture starring Amanda Seyfried and Finn Wittrock

A Mouthful of Air is a compassionate and wrenching portrait of Julie Davis, a young wife and mother torn between the love she feels for her family and the voice in her head that insists they'd be better off without her.

We meet Julie several weeks after her suicide attempt, on the eve of her son's first birthday. Grateful to be alive, Julie tries her best to appreciate every moment--"this tree, that passing car, the pretzel guy up ahead on the corner. She has, for whatever reason, been given a second chance"--but her emotional demons are unrelenting, and she is slowly and quietly losing the battle.

Within the narrative of A Mouthful of Air is an argument about the nature of depression--its causes, cures, and the price it exacts from its victims. With spare, elegant prose, this brutally honest portrayal of family and self illuminates the power and complexity of the human psyche.

Originally published in 2003, A Mouthful of Air now includes an afterword by author Adrienne Miller.

1 pages, Audio CD

Published March 1, 2022

About the author

Amy Koppelman is the author of two critically acclaimed novels, A Mouthful of Air and I Smile Back. She received her undergraduate degree from University of Pennsylvania, and an MFA in fiction from Columbia University. Koppelman and her screenwriting partner adapted I Smile Back for the screen. The film, starring Sarah Silverman, premiered at the 2015 Sundance, Toronoto and Deauville Film Festivals. Amy lives in New York City with her family. She is an outspoken advocate for women’s mental health.

Amy would love to participate in your book club when reading her newest book - Hesitation Wounds.

For more info - amykoppelmanoffice@gmail.com

Reviews

[Amber Howe · Rating 1 out of 5]

This book was a No for me. I couldn’t finish this book. Don’t get me wrong, i have finished my share of disturbing books, but this one was just WTF. I have always liked books that I can follow up with a movie and see how the books play out on film. . It begins with the story of a young mother a while after her suicide attempt, but I tapped out when she French kissed her baby and admitted she was in love with her own child. Sorry. I couldn’t get past it and I could not finish this book.

[Morgan Beller · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a difficult read, I needed to take multiple breaks to care for myself because of how well this book was written, it’s vulnerable and real. There’s a lot of depth here that could be analyzed if you are able to sit with your own discomfort.