Both sides now: a novel

The award-winning author of Adiós to My Old Life delivers a poignant novel of the fragile bonds that hold us together in life and love. They meet in a hospital corridor. Libby is there for Ethan, her mentor, her best friend, her husband. He’s dying, and she’s struggling to survive. Nick is there for Katharine, his reason for living, the love of his life, his wife. She’s dying, and he holds on all the tighter as she slips away from him. They can’t do this alone. But maybe they don’t have to. From their chance meeting grows a fast friendship, one of gallows humor, of life in South Florida, of shared experiences in their marriages—the fights, the quirks, the love. Libby and Nick become for each other what no one else can: the person who understands, who hears with the same ears, who sees with the same eyes. In stunning prose, Barbara Ferrer maps the sacred terrain of Libby and Nick’s connection as it develops from one of necessity, to one of possibility. Deep and powerful, this nuanced, elegiac portrait of two marriages, of sickness and survival, and of the healing power of human connection will resonate with readers for years, and showcases Ferrer in all of her brilliant insightfulness. For fans of Elizabeth Berg's TALK BEFORE SLEEP and the novels of Jodi Picoult comes the provocative new novel from Barbara Ferrer. In grief, they find each other. Through loss, they find love. They meet in a hospital corridor. Libby is there for Ethan, her mentor, her best friend, her husband. He's dying, and she's struggling to survive. Nick is there for Katharine, his reason for living, the love of his life, his wife. She's dying, and he holds on all the tighter as she slips away from him. They can't do this alone. But maybe they don't have to. From that chance meeting grows a fast friendship, one of gallows humor, of life in South Florida, of shared experiences in their marriages—the fights, the quirks, the love. Libby and Nick become for each other what no one else can: the person who understands, who hears with the same ears, who sees with the same eyes. In stunning prose, Barbara Ferrer maps the sacred terrain of Libby and Nick's connection as it develops from one of necessity, to one of possibility. Deep and powerful, this nuanced, elegiac portrait of two marriages, of sickness and survival, and of the healing power of human connection will resonate with readers for years, and showcases Ferrer in all of her brilliant insightfulness. Nick Azarias and Libby Santos Walker are strangers with next to nothing in common except they both have spouses fighting for their lives. "Breathe" follows Nick and Libby's journey as they evolve from uneasy comrades, to unlikely friends, to even unlikelier lovers all while coping with the bleakest of circumstances. They find that life does go on after death, and that love has the power to heal, to destroy, and to define.