Coming Up for Air

By: Patti Callahan Henry

Narrated by: Janet Metzger

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 into 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. Coming Up for Air is the story of one woman’s search for truth - and what happens when love steps in along the way.

©2011 Patti Callahan Henry (P)2011 Brilliance Audio, Inc.

Another Ending to Worry the Reader

I think Patti Callahan loves to torment her readers. In Callahan’s last book I knew from the beginning, it could not end well. In this one, I was afraid all the way through that I would be so angry at the end. I wasn’t angry, however, I felt like the story couldn’t end perfectly. And I do insist on happy ever after. That’s why I read romance novels. This is a good clean romance, well written, and a good performer. Rated PG 16

Ella’s awakening

Too many itty bitty details. Empty cup of coffee and put in dishwasher etc etc

Very sweet

A lovely story about a woman finding herself after a lifetime of just accepting comfort and what is expected.

Fun story

I have found a new author. Very nice read with a strong character. Makes one think, probably more a woman story than a man only because the woman evolves and grows. Not something most of the male persuasion are looking for.

I liked it very much, precious

I’m not sure I can adequately express the emotions brought on by this journey, but I really didn’t want the story to end. I identified with so much in this story, from being an Atlanta native, to loving St.Simmons, going to school and falling in love in Alabama, to being the one to find my mother having passed away. Exploring the relationship with your mother and coming to know about her before she was your mother is an important journey for every woman I think. I don’t understand the negative reviews that kept me from this book but I’m
Glad I finally decided to give it a go. Worth a credit, don’t miss it.