Customer Reviews

Breathing Room

5 star:		(26)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Breathing Room by Patricia Elam explores the friendship between two women and how they cope with the tumultuous challenges in their lives. The prose here is refreshing, lyrical, and resonates with warm, candidness, and wisdom. You will be moved by the vibrancy of the characters, especially the teenaged daughter Zadi whose voice springs from the pages of this unforgettable debut. If you're into comparisons, think Terry McMillan combined with Patty Rice and you've got yourself an engaging and realistic read that chronicles the complex lives of contemporary African American women.

Breathing Room,Patricia's Elam's debut novel delves into family & secrets, friendship & strife, redemption & forgiveness, tragic & hope.

Breathing Room is an emotionally rich and powerfully written story about two middle-age, middle income, professional women coming to terms with self and struggling with the consequences of their actions. Norma & Moxie have been friends since college and have always been there for one another no matter the circumstances. Although parenthood, marriage and professional careers might sometimes be more than they can bare, their love and respect for each other has always weathered the storm, until Norma decides to stray and embark on an illicit path. Moxie, full of self-pride and self-righteousness can't seem to control her judgement or impression of others when they dare to be different from her. As a result, she finds herself at odds with best friend, Norma, as well as, her teenage daughter, Zadi.

Breathing Room is a story that grows on you quickly as you experience the sub-plots and twist and turns. The beginning was a little slow until I reached a comfort zone with Ms. Elam's writing style; however, the more I read the more engrossed and caught up I became. I liked that Breathing Room captured the essence of so many middle-aged, middle-income, professional women who're striving to do it all but sometimes fall short. One of Ms. Elam's greatest strength and sometimes weakness was the character development; at times I did not feel the main characters were created equally. While Moxie often got on my nerves, as I thought she took everything to the extreme, I felt like I personally knew her and that she was a sista I could kick it with. On the other hand, after I finished the book, I didn't quite feel that I really knew who Norma was. I knew her professionally and I knew her as a wife...sort of...but I didn't understand her feelings as a mother. I didn't really know much about her earlier background or her emotional makeup. I really wanted to know more about her childhood. I wanted to know what made her tick. Instead, I walked away slightly disappointed and not completely satisfied. Now the character who really captured my heart...and I felt should have been a main character...was Moxie's daughter, Zadi. I loved living vicariously through her via her sistagirl diary.

Breathing Room sometimes appears to be hard to follow and unfocused, however, real life is often like this and Ms. Elam's does an outstanding job of capturing what women in this target segment (i.e. the mature AA female) often go through. The storyline is a refreshing change of pace and will capture your attention. I finished the book in one sitting and felt like I had lost my best friends when I got to the end. Breathing Room made me think and wonder what I would do if I were in Moxie, Norma or Zadi's shoes. I felt Breathing Room...I lived Breathing Room...and I felt like I had lost my best friends when I got to the end. I really enjoyed Ms. Elam's debut novel and she's a writer that I hope will be around for a long time to come.

Have you ever just held on to the last page of a book cause you did not want it to end. Well when you pick up your copy of Breathing Room, you will feel this way. In the debut novel by Patricia Elam, she explores not only the importance of friendship, but unresolved grief and coming of age.Her writing is lyrical and flows very smoothly throughout the book. She is descriptive enough for you to feel a part of the story. You will meet Moxie, the very afro-centric probation officer. Norma the photographer who is having problems in her marriage. Then there is Zadi, Moxie's teenage daughter. You get to see her coming of age in her journal. These 3 women make for very interesting reading. You will not want to put this book down!!

Patricia Elam's debut is a lyrical work of art, a beautiful song that carries you straight to the very end. The story is told through the eyes of Norma a professional photographer who has committed the worse possible crime as far as her best friend Moxie is concerned. Moxie has her own set of woes as a Probation officer and single mother of Zadie, a spirited smart teenager who challenges all that her mother has taught her in one fell swoop by dating the wrong type of boy and straightening her beautiful natural hair just to be accepted. The tumultuous relationships are intertwined by love, expectations, disappointment and loss. Not one beat is missed. Anyone who enjoys deeply written stories about love and friendship will enjoy this one wrapped in a warm blanket and a cup of steaming java.

Patricia Elam's debut novel is an outstanding read. The story is of two friends Moxie and Norma who have been friends since their college days. When Norma reveals a secret to Moxie it truly puts their friendship to the test. The secret puts a wedge between their friendship and nearly stops them from communicating. Will they get their friendship back on track? You will have to read the book to find out.

I enjoyed the realism of the story that Patricia Elam tells. This is truly a story of friendship and letting go of the past. I look forward to more from Patricia Elam and wish her continued success and blessings. Peace.

A great debut novel. I introduce this book to a newly started book club and it turned out to be a GREAT book we all loved it. I loved the character Zadi, the 15 year old daughter of Moxie. Zadi's journal entries are just priceless she brought back memories of my own journal. I'm not a mom but all mom's should read this book. You will not be disappointed.

Patricia Elam did a wonderful job writing this story of friendship, growing up and forgiveness. I'm looking forward to her next novel.

Patricia Elam has written a winner. The Character development is wonderful Zadi, Moxie and Norma cannot be contained on the pages they will invade your thoughts and your heart.

The author explores several subjects, the handles them all extremely well. But the one that really got my attention was the relationship between Norma and her 3 year old son Miles, Norma honestly does not feel the love and nurturing towards Miles that is expected of a mother. It disturbs her and he feels it too. She has no idea how to change it. Elam explores it with such depth and sensitivity that you understand and empathize with Norma.

Definitely one of the best of 2001!

I absolutely loved this book! As a single African American woman raising a young daughter, I can certainly identify with Moxie and the trials and tribulations that accompany raising a young tenacious girl. The book portrays real life delimas with one being my most important, which was how Moxie had to heal from past hurts and learn to overcome those pains. Meanwhile Moxie continued in her struggle to be a good mother to Zadi. Zadi was a teenage girl (and not to mention a daddy's girl) who in my opinion was in search for the love she felt she lacked in her home especially from her overbearing mother. Zadi then ran to the comfort of her rough neck boyfriend Octavious who provided Zadie a chance to walk on the wild side which was a world of difference from her comfortable middle class lifestyle. Zadie's near death accident allowed several indviduals examine their relationships in the near the end of the book; Norma and Moxie's, Moxie and James, and Norma finally admitting to herself that she might have inherited her mother's mental illness. Patricia Elam does an fantastic job of weaving several stories into one each with their very own unique issues yet all of the relationships lacking one very important component; communication. I'm looking forward to reading her next book.

CONGRATULATIONS to Ms Patricia Elam for this astounding first novel. It is a wonderful and insightful story of a friendship between two women. The story successully allows us to peak into how our differences and limitations lead us to hurt each other to often. Most women will recognize some aspect of themselves, if they are honest, in these two women. However, the surprise bonus of this book is Zadi, the 15 year old daughter of one of the women. Ms Elam has so creatively chosen to introduce us to this character via her daily journal, which she addresses as sistergirl. Her tale is rich, timley, and extremely relevent to the joys and pitfalls of youth. You will want every young person you know to read it. I recommend that everyone who loves to read fiction that mimics real life, buy this book. You will not be disappointed

Using a teenager's daily journal to tell a large part of her insightful story of the sacred bonds of friendship between women,debut novelist Patricia Elam breaks new ground. Fifteen-year-old Zadie,her thoughts, dreams, joy and pain, is one of the most credible characters in this emotionally-wrenching story of the power of female friendship.

This authentic peek inside the head of this sensistive, contemporary teenager gives the book a unique flavor and should prove a valuable asset to anyone, parent, teacher, etc. who deals with adolescents on a daily basis. Using Zadie as a vehicle to tell her story, adds a vivid quality to the lives of the two main characters and makes us invest ourselves fully in their captivating tale. Breathing Room is a welcome addition to any 2001 list of innovative literary fiction!