Breathing Water - by T Greenwood (Paperback)

About the Book

Effie Greer returns to Lake Gormlaith, the site of a tragic accident of her past, to confront that event and help rebuild her family's cabin. Shortly after her arrival, little gifts begin mysteriously appearing on her doorstep and eventually Effie finds salvation in the most unlikely of people.

Book Synopsis

Startling and fresh. . .ripe with originality. --San Diego Union-Tribune

Three years after leaving Lake Gormlaith, Vermont, Effie Greer is coming home. The unspoiled lake, surrounded by dense woods and patches of wild blueberries, is the place where she spent idyllic childhood summers at her grandparents' cottage. And it's where Effie's tempestuous relationship with her college boyfriend, Max, culminated in a tragedy she can never forget.

Effie had hoped to save Max from his troubled past, and in the process became his victim. Since then, she's wandered from one city to another, living like a fugitive. But now Max is gone, and as Effie paints and restores the ramshackle cottage, she forms new bonds--with an old school friend, with her widowed grandmother, and with Devin, an artist and carpenter summering nearby. Slowly, she's discovering a resilience and tenderness she didn't know she possessed, and--buoyed by the lake's cool, forgiving waters--she may even learn to save herself.

Wrenching yet ultimately uplifting, here is a novel of survival, hope, and absolution from a writer of extraordinary insight and depth.

"Greenwood is a writer of subtle strength." -Publishers Weekly

Praise For T. Greenwood's Breathing Water

"A poignant, clear-eyed novel. . .filled with careful poetic description." --The New York Times Book Review

"A vivid, somberly engaging book." --Larry McMurtry

"Greenwood sensitively and painstakingly unravels her protagonist's self-loathing and replaces it with a graceful dignity." --Publishers Weekly

Review Quotes

"Greenwood sensitively and painstakingly unravels her protagonist's self-loathing and replaces it with a graceful dignity....A poignant debut."-- "Publishers Weekly"
"With its strong characters, dramatic storytelling, and heartfelt narration, "Breathing Water" should establish T. Greenwood as an important young novelist who has the great gift of telling a serious and sometimes tragic story in an entertaining and pleasing way."-- Howard Frank Mosher, author of "The Fall of the Year "and "Northern Borders"
"A vivid, somberly engaging first book."-- Larry McMurtry, bestselling author of" Lonesome Dove"

About the Author

T. Greenwood is the author of eleven critically acclaimed novels. She has received numerous grants for her writing, including a National Endowment for the Arts Literature Fellowship and a grant from the Maryland State Arts Council. She lives with her family in San Diego, California, where she teaches creative writing, studies photography, and continues to write. Her website is www.tgreenwood.com.