From Publishers Weekly
Three sisters both lose and find themselves in the political and social upheavals of 1960s and '70s Philadelphia in Shawne Johnson's impressionistic, earnest debut novel, Getting Our Breath Back. Oldest sister Violet has nearly made herself ill trying to be a proper wife, but it hasn't stopped her husband from chasing skirts. Middle sister Lilly was once a college student, an aspiring writer and a Black Panther, but is now majoring in heroin, while baby sister Rose is a sculptor and single mother who can't seem to settle on a husband. All three women witness the erosion of their formerly middle-class old neighborhood and participate in the other cataclysmic social changes of their day.
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From Booklist
Johnson's first novel is a lyrical story about three Philadelphia sisters, set in the 1960s and 1970s. The oldest, Violet, struggles for perfection. Even with all of her efforts, her ideal life is less than perfect. She finally accepts the hurtful truth that she is not happy nor is her husband faithful. Lilly is the poetic, ex-Black Panther, middle child. She continually seeks an outlet for her creative voice. Lilly soothes her torment by depending on heroin. The youngest, Rose, is a sculptor. When she asks her mother and sisters to come rescue her from an abusive relationship, she is left with a child and emotional scars. Her daughter looks for her daddy in the men that Rose invites into their home. It isn't until the past catches up with each woman that the sisters are forced to address their situations. A thoughtful first novel about getting one's breath back and gaining the strength to make changes and to speak openly about hurt and pain.
Lillian LewisCopyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved
