A Mouthful of Air

Now a major motion picture starring Amanda Seyfried and Finn WittrockA 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.
"Koppelman nails every detail."
"This is a story so convincing that never again will you pass a new mother on the street without wondering what's behind her mouthful of smiles."
"Lean, minutely detailed, and frighteningly convincing."
"Anyone who has suffered from depression will recognize the distant, almost ethereal rhythm of Julie's days."
"So visceral is Koppelman's prose, the reader truly feels the depth of Julie's spirit and the toll of her continual struggle to keep herself afloat."