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Coming Up for Air [Hardcover]

Patti Callahan Henry (Author)
4.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (28 customer reviews)

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Book Description

August 16, 2011

On the coast of Alabama, there is a house cloaked in mystery, a place that reveals the truth and changes lives...

Ellie Calvin is caught in a dying marriage, and she knows this. With her beloved daughter away at college and a growing gap between her and her husband – between her reality and the woman she wants to be – she doesn’t quite seem to fit into her own life.

But everything changes after her controlling mother, Lillian, passes away. Ellie’s world turns upside down when she sees her ex-boyfriend, Hutch, at her mother’s funeral and learns that he is in charge of a documentary that involved Lillian before her death. He wants answers to questions that Ellie’s not sure she can face, until, in the painful midst of going through her mother’s things, she discovers a hidden diary – and a window onto stories buried long ago.

As Ellie and Hutch start speaking for the first time in years, Ellie’s closed heart slowly begins to open. Fighting their feelings, they set out together to dig into Lillian’s history. Using both the diary and a trip to the Summer House, a mysterious and seductive bayside home, they gamble that they can work together and not fall in love again. But in piecing together a decades-old unrequited-love story, they just might uncover the secrets in their own hearts…


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Editorial Reviews

Review

“An affecting Southern tale about second chances and banishing the ghosts of regret… Romantic storytelling at its simple best.” – Kirkus (starred review)

“This standard example of women’s fiction is elevated by Henry’s subtle, sometimes excellent characterization.... Ellie’s earnest quest for true happiness will resonate with many readers, especially fans of Kristin Hannah and Susan Wiggs.” – Booklist

"A beautiful, emotionally engrossing story about marriage and motherhood, loss and longing. Patti Callahan Henry has done it again, capturing all the complexity of relationships with insight, compassion and a lyrical, unforgettable voice." – Emily Giffin

 “Patti Henry’s luminous story-telling shines through once again.” – Mary Kay Andrews

"A buoyant journey of self-discovery from an author who understands the human heart… With the complexity of a sultry southern breeze, Coming Up for Air reveals the link between a mother's secret past and a daughter's hope for a new future." – Sherryl Woods

"Coming Up For Air is a beautiful exploration of the deepest mysteries of the human heart. Patti Callahan Henry writes with compassion and insight, illuminating the pain of yearning and loss as well as the unsurpassed joy of love rediscovered." – Susan Wiggs

“A southern woman's journey into truth.  An emotionally intense, beautiful and unforgettable novel.  I loved it.”  -- Robyn Carr

“In Coming Up for Air Patti Callahan Henry writes with piercing reality, grace and breathtaking insights.  Every book Henry writes is a must-read for me, and this one rises to the top!” – Mary Alice Monroe, New York Times bestselling author of The Butterfly’s Daughter

“Heartwarming with a touch of magic. Patti Callahan Henry’s elegant writing takes you on an emotional journey you won’t soon forget. . . nor will you want to.” – Diane Chamberlain, New York Times bestselling author of The Midwife’s Confession

“A richly textured story of love, loss and redemption, reminiscent of some of the best southern storytellers." – Donna Ball, author of A Year on Ladybug Farm

About the Author

PATTI CALLAHAN HENRY is a full-time writer, wife and mother and the New York Times Bestselling author of seven novels with Penguin/NAL, including The Art of Keeping Secrets, Driftwood Summer and The Perfect Lovesong: A Holiday Story). She lives with her husband and three children outside Atlanta on the Chattahoochee River, where she is working on her next novel.

Product Details

  • Hardcover: 272 pages
  • Publisher: St. Martin's Press (August 16, 2011)
  • Language: English
  • ISBN-10: 0312610394
  • ISBN-13: 978-0312610395
  • Product Dimensions: 9.3 x 6.2 x 1.1 inches
  • Shipping Weight: 1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
  • Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (28 customer reviews)
  • Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #247,191 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Patti Callahan Henry is the New York Times Bestselling author of seven novels--Losing the Moon, Where the River Runs, When Light Breaks, Between the Tides, The Art of Keeping Secrets, Driftwood Summer and The Perfect Love Song: A Holiday Story.

Patti was a finalist in the Townsend Prize for Fiction and twice a nominee for the Southeastern Independent Booksellers Association Fiction Book of the Year. Patti is hailed as a fresh new voice in southern fiction. She is a frequent speaker at luncheons, book clubs and women's groups where she discusses the importance of storytelling and anything else they want to talk about.

Patti grew up as a Minister's daughter, learning early how storytelling effects our lives. She grew up spending her summers on Cape Cod where she began her love affair with the beach, ocean, tides and nature of the coast. Moving south at the tender age of twelve, she found solace in books and stories. While attending Auburn University, she met a southern boy who later proposed on Daufuskie Island, South Carolina, next to a historic lighthouse overlooking the Sound. After earning her Master's degree in Child Health, Patti worked as a Clinical Nurse Specialist until her first child was born.

Patti is a full time writer, wife and mother living with her husband and three children outside Atlanta on the Chattahoochee River where she is working on her eight novel.






 

Customer Reviews

28 Reviews
5 star:
 (18)
4 star:
 (2)
3 star:
 (2)
2 star:
 (4)
1 star:
 (2)
 
 
 
 
 
Average Customer Review
4.1 out of 5 stars (28 customer reviews)
 
 
 
 
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

15 of 17 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars A Jubilee for the Soul, August 17, 2011
This review is from: Coming Up for Air (Hardcover)
[Kirkus awarded this book a starred review, a rating with which I completely agree.]


"Coming Up for Air" catapults Patti Callahan Henry to Anne Rivers Siddons' level. That's walking in some tall cotton for any contemporary Southern writer. As I read "Air," I consistently and favorably found myself comparing it to some of Siddons' best novels, "Burnt Mountain" notwithstanding. Both writers demonstrate a similar love for the Deep South and share a lust for life's whimsies, particularly in nature. Both understand the convoluted mazes that are love and mother/daughter and male/female relationships. Both also appear to hold sacred the belief that the South's tumultuous 1960s should not be forgotten.

Set primarily in both Buckhead/Atlanta,GA, and in fictional Bayside, AL, which is a thinly disguised Fairhope on Mobile Bay, this story involves around Lillian "Ellie" Calvin, the female protagonist. The story includes: a manipulative husband with anger management issues and an opportunity to revive lost love; the unexpected death of her controlling mother who apparently died with a big secret that dates to the 1960s; empty nest syndrome after Ellie's daughter goes away to college; and a near-magical Summer House on Mobile Bay. It is whispered that those who stay there have a truth revealed and are forever changed. If Ellie stays there, will her truth be revealed, and will she be forever changed? Will she discover a truth about her mother that is better left a secret? Patti Henry beautifully reveals the answers in her luminous novel.

Others have said this is Henry's best works. She has previously had seven books on the NYT best seller list. "Coming Up for Air" is already among my all-time favorites. It is easily the best book I've read since "The Help" two years ago. This is one of those books you close, grab your cell, and call your best friend to share all your favorite parts.

Fair disclosure: I received an advanced reading copy from St. Martin's Press. Brief parts of the above appeared in my lengthy review published August 14, 2011, in the Mobile (AL) Press-Register. ~BBL
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6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars Wonderful story, August 30, 2011
Amazon Verified Purchase(What's this?)
This review is from: Coming Up for Air (Hardcover)
I have read all of Patty's novels, and found her latest Coming Up For Air to my favorite. She told a story that will resonate with many readers. The story is about a woman, Ellie Calvin who is at a crossroads in life. Her only child, a daughter, has gone to college, her mother has just passed away and she is realizing she is in a dying marriage. The unexpected happens when she runs into her college boyfriend and learns he is working on a project that involves her mother. She discovers a hidden diary of her mother's that answers many questions that she needed and ones that her ex boyfriend, Hutch wants for his project. She developed the characters beautifully, and her description of the coastal town in Alabama was right on. I never had heard of a Jubilee and after reading this novel I hope I get to experience one. Amazing! If you are looking for a wonderful last summer read this is it. I truly did not want the story to end and leave these wonderful characters.
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5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars WOW!!, August 27, 2011
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This review is from: Coming Up for Air (Kindle Edition)
Patti really has a way with words.....my favorite book of hers has always been "When Light Breaks" but this one is now tied for the position!! I am not a person who gives spoilers or summarizes a book but I will say this...either by Kindle or hardcover it is worth every penny!! I loved this book so much I am also buying it hardcover!!
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