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  • The Trick Is to Keep Breathing by Janice Galloway book cover
  • The Trick Is to Keep Breathing by Janice Galloway book cover
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The Trick Is to Keep Breathing

by Janice Galloway

Grief, isolation, and the effort to carry on

$18.10 USD
$30.17 USD $18.10 USD
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AlbakiReads Editorial

Grief, isolation, and the effort to carry on

Janice Galloway’s debut centers on Joy Stone, a twenty-seven-year-old drama teacher coping with the accidental drowning of her lover and her mother’s death. The novel traces how bereavement gives way to loneliness, anguish, and self-blame, while holding emotional suffering alongside moments of wit, irony, warmth, and humanity. First published in 1989, it is set apart by this contrast: Joy’s distress is central, but the account also makes room for the human responses that surface within it.

Good fit for readers who enjoy

  • For readers interested in fiction about grief and bereavement.
  • For readers exploring twentieth-century Scottish literature.
  • For readers drawn to novels that place wit and irony alongside emotional distress.

Themes

Grief and bereavementLoneliness and self-blameEmotional sufferingWit and irony amid despair

Based on publisher information and book metadata.

Book overview

The widely celebrated debut from one of Scotland's most important authors tells the stark and honest story of a woman struggling to cope with the loss of her lover.


Janice Galloway's inventive, lively first novel is about the grief and breakdown of Joy Stone, who is pushed to the limits of loneliness. After the accidental drowning of her married lover and the death of her mother, the twenty-seven-year-old drama teacher spirals into anguish and self-blame. While the novel paints a portrait of a woman enduring great emotional suffering, it is also a story of warmth and humanity; it's the wit and irony found in moments of despair that prove to be Joy's salvation.


First published in 1989 and often compared to The Bell Jar, the re-release of The Trick Is to Keep Breathing is a modern classic, and a gift to today's readers.

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Customer reviews

M
AlbakiReads
Malaika Taylor

I highly recommend to for anyone looking for inner clarity

T
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Thomas DiMassa

Great service and fast service

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Ella

Great shopping experience! The book arrived quickly, was well packaged, and matched the description perfectly. I would definitely shop with you again

O
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Olivia

Smooth.