“Breathe for Me”
What’s the Theme?
In my previous post, I opened up by saying “Breathe for Me” is about two grief-stricken individuals who must live with the regret of neglecting loved ones who have died.
Let me acknowledge a known fact before I begin: there isn’t a book produced that has totally reinvented the many tropes and themes and premises of a book. Writers try to put a spin on it in an effort to come up with something different and unique, but books are the same as before–Love, Death, Good, Evil.
My book is no different.
I knew this going in, and yet, I strove to create something I don’t always see in books today–an opening up of a character’s mind. It’s almost as if writers are sometimes afraid to dig that deep, or they are afraid there’s not enough space for their book to use such creativity. I have a nice solution. Split the book in two. Series seem to be everyone’s new thing anyway. Take advantage of readers’ hunger to read. Give them what they ask for–book 2.
I’m a long-winded writer so I’m not as concerned about paper space. And I absolutely love getting inside my characters’ head.
The theme for “Breathe for Me” is another spin on love–lost love, hopelessness, regret, and sorrow. The two main characters don’t think they deserve a second chance because they have been horrible to the people they love, and look where that’s gotten them. I did my best to portray them as stubborn, wounded people who use emotional crutches to push themselves forward, and just as they were about to stand on wobbly knees, they crashed.
In a world filled with strife and lies and discord, it was easy to drown these two characters in a heap of anger and despair, so much so they hardly wanted to look at themselves in the mirror. They tried to correct themselves by focusing on their occupation or striving for one, only to find themselves still wanting.
The cold hard reality about Love, Death, Good, and Evil is that you can’t get away from it. You can’t gather it up and stuff it in a bag like you do your laundry and toss it in a corner. You must fight it out, wrestle with it until your soul finally decides what to do with it.
My characters, like people in real life, must face this head-on in everyday life, with every single decision they make. Their life becomes a battle with each other and with themselves. They get so mired in the past and how selfish they’ve been that they can’t see the sun rise or clearly hear the voices of their loved ones reminding them that they must move on.
It’s a sobering thing to wake up and face the fact that you’re forgiven. You are, you know. We want something to beat us, drive us into the ground, shoot us straight through the heart, bury us deep so we can’t breath. The long and short of it is we don’t want to wake up tomorrow and relive those regrets all over again. The freedom offered us is too easy. We don’t deserve it. We can’t believe in it. We think it’s been given by mistake. That it belongs to someone else.
In the end, forgiveness is just that easy. All we need to do is accept it. Smile about it. Enjoy it. Bathe in it. Walk like we own it. And raise our hands in thanksgiving.
My characters act and behave like you would after waddling in regret. Many days they’ve woken up so emotionally tired they can’t see straight. But if you live long enough, life will see to it that you rest. It will force it upon on you. And once relaxed, you will think to yourself, “It’s time to let go.”
Will my characters come to understand any of this?
Well …
You’ll need to read the book. I can promise you this before you read it … My characters are two complex individuals who are bent on working things out for themselves. They don’t need any help. They want out! They want to die.
But fate has other plans.
My next post will list quotes from people who have reviewed the book both on Amazon and Goodreads.
Until my next post …
Donna B. Comeaux
Author
Breathe for Me
Ways to Purchase Book
Amazon
Apple
Barnes & Noble
Bookbub
Kobo
Odilio
Smashword
See book reviews here.
Subscribe to my Newsletter below.