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Coming Up for Air

by Patti Callahan Henry (Goodreads Author)

3.72 of 5 stars 3.72 · rating details · 1,022 ratings · 295 reviews

On the coast of Alabama, there is a house cloaked in mystery, a place that reveals the truth and changes lives...

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.

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Hardcover, 261 pages

Published August 16th 2011 by St. Martin's Press

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Community Reviews

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Jan 03, 2012 Felicia rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: 2011-read

Bought for Myself
Overall Rating 4.25
Character Rating 4.25
Story Rating 4.25

NOTE: I admit I picked up this book because I met Patti Callahan Henry at a Book Signing. She was funny, genuine, and personable---all attributes that come across in her writing. It was a great venture outside my normal reading comforts!

What I Loved: This book was written for every daughter that isn't/wasn't/can't be sure they have/are/could live up the perceived expectations of their mothers. Even though this book is set...more

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Jun 28, 2012 Debbie rated it 4 of 5 stars

Patti Callahan Henry is a new author to me but that won’t last for long because she’s already become a trusted friend. Her novel is a poignant and fragile story of love loss, love gained and what the brokenness of a heart does to a person’s perspective on life, whether they learn from that loss, wallow in it or close their heart to it. It’s one woman’s search for something she didn’t know she was looking for. It was a glimpse of the present and the future by looking to the past. Her narrative is...more Patti Callahan Henry is a new author to me but that won’t last for long because she’s already become a trusted friend. Her novel is a poignant and fragile story of love loss, love gained and what the brokenness of a heart does to a person’s perspective on life, whether they learn from that loss, wallow in it or close their heart to it. It’s one woman’s search for something she didn’t know she was looking for. It was a glimpse of the present and the future by looking to the past. Her narrative is a smooth placid lake with intermittent eddies and crashing waves that brought the sights, smells and scenes straight from her pages onto a view screen in my mind. Her dialogue is the poetry of the south and it resonated in me with every ya’ll and hey she said. Her characters though, those are the stars of her tale, her Ellie and Hutch demanded attention and I breathlessly waited to see what would happen, plus the mystery that was Ellie’s mother hooked me. It is a love story and yet it’s more, it’s a story of life and how the choices made effect it.
If you love the work of Karen White or Dorothea Benton Frank give this author a try and I believe like me you’ll come back for more.
Little did Ellie Calvin know that her mother’s death would be a catalyst to her finding secrets hid deep. That when her old love Hutch O’Brien contacts her for help with her mother’s part in his exhibit on Atlanta’s Women of the Year in the 60’s she’d learn that the woman she knew her mother to be was once someone very different. That when she opened the Pandora’s box that is her mother’s journal she would find between the pages a spirited and righteous woman who put herself smack dab in the middle of the civil rights movement in Alabama, she’d find a woman who had a secret love, one who wasn’t her father. And this was a mystery because Ellie has followed in her mother’s footsteps with her own methodical life, she used the doubt her mother planted about Hutch’s inappropriateness as a husband to turn in another direction. She didn’t know that working with Hutch would open up ancient wounds that never really closed. She didn’t know that digging around in her mother’s past would somehow dictate her future. But she’s about to discover not only who her mother was, but who she, Ellie, is as well. Ellie will have to make some decisions about what she wants from now on and some of those decisions will have irrevocable effects on those closest to her. She’ll wonder if trying her wings is worth the fall it may bring.
Please go to my blog to see more information, a special app for Patti's readers and the picture of my seedlings that were a gift from her.
http://thereadingfrenzy.blogspot.com/...(less)

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Apr 14, 2012 Kathleen rated it 4 of 5 stars

C.S.Lewis’ passage beginning with the words “To love at all is to be vulnerable” opens Henry’s latest novel. The funeral of her iconic mother, Lillian, leaves the principal character, Ellie, longing for redemption and reconciliation. Ellie’s journey through this novel reveals her understanding, reading her mother’s intriguing journal, that her mother chose safety over love as she has. Her struggle is to now decide between risk or shelter; she does this by spending some time away from Atlanta in...more

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Feb 13, 2012 Maggie61 rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: maggie-s-100-for-2012

This is the second book I have read this year that touches with the same topic of reuniting with a past love many years later.

There are so many different views on this topic. While both of the books more or less ended up the same, you have to ask yourself - is an ex and ex for a reason? Do we glorify past relationships, first love etc. and remember them as being better than they were? In both of these cases, so much time had gone by, they were different people. If the people are so different no...more

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Janie I don't normally comment to someone's review, but felt compelled because I think you would find my dad's story fasinating. He briefly dated a women wh...more
12 juin 15:27

Maggie61 Hi Janie. Loved your story, it was beautiful. They say love is sweeter the second time around, definitely worked for your dad! The other book was Beth...more
13 juin 14:51

Janie Hi Maggie, I know. I love their story. Wish they had more time together on earth but they are together now again. Flos died this past November. She wa...more
13 juin 15:48

Oct 22, 2011 Rhonda rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: read-in-2011

Ellie is feeling lost and alone when her daughter goes to college. Then when her mother dies and she sees her old boyfriend at the funeral, all kinds of feelings take over. She reads her mother's diary and starts a quest to find her mother's 'real' life, and this leads her back to her old boyfriend, etc.

Favorite Quotes:

"Nothing about Mother's death was funny. It was sudden and awful and left our small family bereft and confused. I've discovered the finality of death in this: It remains unchanged...more

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Oct 09, 2011 Jessie rated it 2 of 5 stars

I received this book from goodreads as an advance readers edition. I probably would not have finished it if I had not felt obligated to finish it in order to give a fair review.

I have read this author before and I love her style of writing. She is descriptive in a lyrical way. Her writing extracts emotions from within.

With that said, outside of her way with words, I did not like this book. I could not relate to the main character at all and found her to be a selfish, lying, unlikeable person....more

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Sep 27, 2011 Lynette rated it 5 of 5 stars Recommends it for: All

Recommended to Lynette by: Won it on good reads

I really liked this book. The intertwined of the romance, history and just finding one self was awesome. I love books that put southern USA history in it. also really enjoyed the setting of this novel. I grew up in the North and lived in Florida. I saw some things down there that remined me of things that we thought were over up in Maine. I loved the small-town feel where everyone knows everyone else, I grew up in an extremely small town.

Ellie knew that her mother was hiding something from her a...more I really liked this book. The intertwined of the romance, history and just finding one self was awesome. I love books that put southern USA history in it. also really enjoyed the setting of this novel. I grew up in the North and lived in Florida. I saw some things down there that remined me of things that we thought were over up in Maine. I loved the small-town feel where everyone knows everyone else, I grew up in an extremely small town.

Ellie knew that her mother was hiding something from her all her life.She is unsure of what it was until l she was cleaning out her mom stuff after her mom had died.When she unlocks a draw she finds her mom's journal. It is a weird journal though. Ellie's mom only wrote in it once a year. She only wrote a brief summary of what happen that year and her goals and wishes for the up coming year. Well one of the comments Ellie found that her mom kept writing was this is the year he will know he loves me. Her mom was all was appropriate and practical. So reading this journal made Ellie have a lot of questions as to who her mom had been and about her own life end relationships. Ellie takes an eye-opening and life-changing journey into her mother’s past to try to find answers to all the questions the journal raised..Ellie ends up going to her best friends mother summer home that is a mysterious house on the bay. Here she spends a long time piecing together her mother’s unknown life while at the same time figuring out her own life. While at the guest house of her mom's friends home she comes face-to-face with an ex-boyfriend, Hutchinson O’Brien. He is working on woman of the year project and Ellie's mom is in the years of 1960 -1961. (I think) Together the two discover the secrets that Ellie’s mother has kept throughout her life about being involved in freedom rides and trying to get the desegregation of the south. Along the way, Ellie is upset and does not understand some of her mom's choices.Ellie begins to understand the choices her mother made when she was young. Ellie realizes that sometime things do not work out the way they should the first time, but when presented with another chance, then you should give it a try. (less)

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Sep 10, 2011 Beth rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: blog-review

Originally published at BethsBookReviews.com

This was a surprisingly fast read and really quite enjoyable.

One of things I didn't like were the main character's consistent use of "Mother" to refer to her mother instead of "Mom". It just became super annoying and really rather Mommy Dearest feeling after a couple of chapters. I know it was meant to convey the relationship between the characters, but it was just irritating.

That said, the book was overall an interesting read with a story that you gen...more

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Aug 26, 2011 Fab :) rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: death-or-loss-related-books, first-reads-books, sea-and-ocean-related-books, summer-books

I received an advanced copy of this book from the publisher.

I was beyond excited when I found out that I had won an advanced copy of COMING UP FOR AIR BY PATTI CALLAHAN HENRY after entering to win on Goodreads. I received a copy of the book in July and could not wait to start reading it.

Coming Up For Air by Patti Callahan Henry is a touching story of one woman’s search for the truth after the death of her mother. Ellie Calvin always knew that her mother was hiding something from her and the fa...more I received an advanced copy of this book from the publisher.

I was beyond excited when I found out that I had won an advanced copy of COMING UP FOR AIR BY PATTI CALLAHAN HENRY after entering to win on Goodreads. I received a copy of the book in July and could not wait to start reading it.

Coming Up For Air by Patti Callahan Henry is a touching story of one woman’s search for the truth after the death of her mother. Ellie Calvin always knew that her mother was hiding something from her and the family, but she did not known exactly what that was until she finds her mother’s journal. In the journal, Ellie finds that her mother has written an entry every year summarizing the events of the past year and her goals for the future one. With her mother’s journal as a guide, Ellie takes an eye-opening and life-changing journey into her mother’s past. The journal leads Ellie to the mysterious house on the bay where she spends a long time piecing together her mother’s unknown life while at the same time figuring out her own life. On this journey, Ellie comes face-to-face with an ex-boyfriend, Hutchinson O’Brien. Together the two discover the secrets that Ellie’s mother has kept throughout her life. Along the way, Ellie is left questioning her mother’s choices, but in the end, Ellie begins to understand the choices her mother made when she was young. Ellie realizes that sometime things do not work out the way they should the first time, but when presented with another chance, then you should give it a try.

Coming Up For Air by Patti Callahan Henry is a breathtaking novel about the need to pursue the truth. I can easily say that at first I was a little hesitant when I read the synopsis of the book. That read something along the lines of a woman who was having a mid-life crisis that would ultimately result in cheating and divorce. However, I was pleasantly surprised that this was not the case. Coming Up For Air instead was a touching story about one woman’s determined quest to find the truth about her mother. Coming Up For Air was beautiful in all aspects, from the writing to the storyline, to the characters. This was the first time that I have read anything by Patti Callahan Henry and I can say that I was impressed with the writing style. I really enjoyed that she chose to incorporate flashbacks into the story. It made the novel seem very realistic. The flashbacks and exerts were lovely and executed flawlessly. Patti Callahan Henry has true talent when it comes to writing. The emotion is raw, real, and absolutely stunning. I would recommend Coming Up For Air to everyone. I think that both younger and older audiences can learn several lessons about love, family, marriage, death, and life. Furthermore, when both younger and older audiences can truly understand and learn so much about life from a single novel, then I think that novel, in this case being Coming Up For Air is definitely worthwhile of any reader.
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Jul 19, 2011 Stacy rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: first-reads

I was very fortunate to win a copy of this book as a giveaway on goodreads.com.

This is a wonderful book that connects a daughter and a mother through the mother's past. Part romance and part mystery, Ellie uncovers parts of her mother's life that she had locked away from the world and kept hidden until her death. Ellie longs to find out what all of this means, while trying to find out what her heart really wants. Ellie leaves Atlanta to travel to Alabama to learn more about her mother's past fr...more

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Mar 14, 2013 Connie N. rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: chick-lit, relationships

My initial thought was to rate this book a 2 or 2.5 because of its feeling of hopelessness. This is one of those "finding-myself" stories about a woman in her 40's who faces life after the death of her strong-willed mother. She realizes that she's unhappy with her marriage but has a hard time describing what she wants, so she goes off in search of some answers as a result of reading her mother's journal. Some authors can tell the story and still keep an underlying sense of hope, but this story d...more

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Feb 24, 2012 Elena rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: 2012-book-challenge-100

I liked this book well enough. It is well written and does depict the complications and consequences of a disfunctional mother/daughter relationship ...

(small SPOILER ALERT)
However, this book seems to be encouraging something that i really don't like. I don't like the emphasis the modern society (litarature/movies...) has been placing lately on middle aged women "finding themselves". It's all fine and dandy that you are sick and tired of your husband (who isn't at some point!?), but since when...more

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Jul 26, 2011 Jadaloves rated it 4 of 5 stars

This book is not something I’d typically pick up and read on my own, but I did enjoy it just the same. Although there was nothing very thrilling or spine tingling within the pages of this book, it did hold a subtle charm and intrigue. When Ellie discovers her mother’s journal after she passes, she discovers that she never really knew her mother at all. There were things in her past she never discussed or revealed to Ellie, and her experience with heartbreak shapes her into a woman more concerned...more This book is not something I’d typically pick up and read on my own, but I did enjoy it just the same. Although there was nothing very thrilling or spine tingling within the pages of this book, it did hold a subtle charm and intrigue. When Ellie discovers her mother’s journal after she passes, she discovers that she never really knew her mother at all. There were things in her past she never discussed or revealed to Ellie, and her experience with heartbreak shapes her into a woman more concerned with appropriateness than love.

Of course unbeknown to her, Ellie’s life is ultimately affected by this, and her mother’s protectiveness leads her to choose a life of safety instead of true love. While trying to discover who her mother really was, Ellie connects with her old boyfriend Hutch, and her one true love, and spends time in the place her mother lost her heart. Ellie was an interesting character to me. She was quietly brave and more than a little curious. I can appreciate that she was driven to discover the part of her mother that was never revealed to her. I think in discovering that part of her mother, it would help her hold onto the parts of her that were slowly being suffocated and snuffed out in her marriage. I also think that she was brave and open. Although she was older, she was willing to take chances and find information even if it proved to hurt her in the end.

I also really enjoyed Hutch. He’s very kind and observant. He’s funny and strong in that consistent sort of way. He’s always there, can always anticipate Ellie’s thoughts and feelings, and forgave her even after she let her mother fill her with doubts about him. The book bounces from past to present in an effort to explain how things came to be the way they were. The transitions were done very nicely and Henry moved from past to present seamlessly. I never found myself lost or confused in the story.

The mystery surrounding her mother’s two lost summers was intriguing. Although people were willing to talk of events, many were unwilling to give names. Thus making it impossible for Ellie to find the man her mother loved and deliver her final letter to him. But as I predicted, the man her mother gave up her heart to happened to be closer to Ellie than she realized which made for an interesting conclusion.

Overall this was a lovely book with an interesting cast of characters. Although not something I’d generally pick to read, it was still enjoyable. A great read for a lazy summer day. Look out for this book when it drops in August.

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Nov 07, 2011 Jenny rated it 1 of 5 stars

Ugh. I always hate it when I don't like a book. Though I had a bad feeling about this one from the get-go. I was just hoping my feeling was wrong and that everything would turn out better. Look out, spoilers abound.

The troubled marriage. I felt they really didn't get into it about what the actual "problems" in this marriage were until near the end. And I suppose I understand. I just want to know why in the world she started dating (and then ended up marrying) someone who is "charming" and she "...more

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Oct 24, 2011 Ruth rated it 4 of 5 stars

What happens when your world seems to crumble around you? Ellie has made all the right choices in her life, just as her mother taught her to do. And yet when her mom passes away she begins to examine those choices and the emptiness that she feels. As she is clearing out her mother's clothes she finds a diary that her mom kept. She wrote in this diary every year on New Year's Eve ever since she was 12. Not knowing what to do and finding stories in her mother's diary that she doesn't understand sh...more

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Sep 17, 2011 Mickey (I'm A Book Shark) rated it 3 of 5 stars Recommends it for: PCH fans, Nicholas Sparks fans

Shelves: 2011, audio

3.5 stars

Ellie mother passes and she finds a journal her mom kept throughout her life. In it are passages from every New Year's Eve since she was young. Ellie, a wife and mother now, reads it and finds that her mom's life wasn't what she thought it was. It sends Ellie on a soul-searching journey to her mother's friend's home and her old college boyfriend Ellie left behind at her mom's insistence. You think you can guess what happens, but you may be wrong!

I liked this one because it reminded me a...more

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Jul 31, 2011 Amy rated it 4 of 5 stars

I am currently reading this book and so far it is good! It leaves with with that tiny bit of suspense to wonder what is Ellie (the main character) going to do next. Will she leave her husband? Will she find out all of her deceased mothers darkest secrets? And what will happen with Hutch, the highschool sweetheart who has re-entered he life? The story is nice and calming to read, but makes you contunie to read on to find answers to these questions.

I just finished the book. overall I would give i...more

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Jun 05, 2012 Diana rated it 4 of 5 stars

When I started this book, I thought it was going to be a routine "woman in a dead marriage and dull life" story.
Ellie Calvin is in her 40's and her mother recently died. In going through his mother's things (her dad can't bear to go through his wife's things), Ellie finds her mother's diary. Ellie finds out her mother had a part of her life that she had never heard anything about. In the 60's, Lillian had been active in the anti-segregation movement. Lillian also a love affair with a man she o...more

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Jul 22, 2011 Katie Pickett rated it 4 of 5 stars

This book is about a woman who loses her mother. While going through her belongings, she finds her mothers journal in a locked drawer. In reading this journal, she feels a need to step back and look at her own life. She goes on a soul journey to get to know her mother. In her search, she spends time with a man she had always loved and had been her first love. While on her soul journey, she looks at her own life and own marriage and deceides she has a decision to make.
This book was an easy read...more

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Aug 09, 2011 Sara Almeida rated it 2 of 5 stars

Recommended to Sara by: Goodreads Giveaway

Shelves: unfinished, first-reads

This was the first book I won through a Goodreads giveaway. I knew it wasn't a book I would normally select on my own, but I was looking forward to reading it nonetheless. Unfortunately, I was unable to finish the book. I tried ... I really did. I do NOT like leaving disparaging comments about books. I have a huge respect for the writing process - after all, a writer puts her time and emotion into her writing. While I'm sure that this book would appeal to many people, it did not appeal to me. In...more

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Aug 24, 2011 Natalie rated it 4 of 5 stars

I actually just finished this last night and I'm still sad it's over. Maybe because I felt I had a strange personal connection to the main character, Ellie. From my teenage years through college I had one big fear. The one that would keep me up at night. That was, that I would know love, and then have to settle for less. I thought it would be one thing I couldn't bear. To experience true love, then to lose it and settle for something less. When I met my husband I knew he was going to be either t...more

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Jul 18, 2011 Tami rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: goodreads-giveaways, 2011

I haven't received the book yet, just noticed I had won. 6/28/11
Received my copy in the mail. I have 3 wins in line in front of it, but hope to start it soon. 7/13/11
Started Saturday and finished early this morning. 7/18/11

Atlanta Georgia. Ellie (Lillian) is a middle aged southern belle whose mother has really run her life. Her mother Lillie (also Lillian) dies suddenly and while Ellie is helping her father clean out her mothers things, she finds a journal. In the journal she finds out who she t...more

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Nov 02, 2012 Dale Harcombe rated it 4 of 5 stars

Do we ever really know even those in our own family? That is the premise of this novel. How much should we expect to know what they were like before we came along and what changed them? Ellie finds a journal belonging to her mother who has recently died and she sets out to uncover the woman behind the journal. This is a gentle, easy to read novel although I must admit I am getting sick of the catching up with the ex theme that seems to be around in a lot of books these days. As someone else said...more

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Sep 15, 2011 Anita Johnson rated it 4 of 5 stars

This is a beautiful story of Ellie, an artist in her early 40's who is the daughter of Lillian, a very proper Buckhead (Altanta's premiere address) matron and the wife of a very controlling man, Rusty. When Lillian suddenly dies, Ellie goes on a mission to learn more about her mother and thus uncover a year of her life in the 60's when she was involved in the race riots. Her summer spent at the beach on the Gulf Coast of Alabama helps her to learn more about life, love and her suppressed dreams...more

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Jul 16, 2011 Katherine rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: first-reads

What a thought provoking book--I couldn't put it down. A mother dies unexpectedly and her 40 something daughter, who had a loving but strained relationship with her, finds her mother's journal. The revelations she finds there sends her on a journey--physical, and emotional-- to discover that part of her mother she had never known. Once the woman had been loving and open but to her daughter she had been restrained, constrained by the circumstances of her society and somewhat cold. The discovery o...more

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Jul 30, 2011 Donna rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: first-reads, own

This is chick lit at its best, but still chick lit just the same; and, as such, it is rather formulaic, but eminently readable. The introspection of the characters was quite well done: their looking at themselves and others was honest and real; I bought it. We even had a small wrench thrown into the works regarding a certain secret: I'll say no more so as not to give it away, although I do think most readers will have figured it out before the end, I know I picked up on it very early on. I parti...more

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Jul 26, 2011 Loraine Alcorn rated it 3 of 5 stars

I think coming up for air by Patti Callahan Henry would be a really nice summer read for most women. Its the story of Ellie Calvin who seems to be facing both the break down of her marriage and empty nest syndrome. Upon the death of her controlling mother Ellie runs into an old love interest and with his help, proceeds to discover things about her Mother that she did not know. Trying to keep things between her and her old boyfriend Hutch on a friendship basis they find themselves drawn together...more

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Jul 20, 2011 Joyce rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: first-reads

Do any of us really know our parents and the life they led before we came along? "Coming Up for Air" is a story about Ellie Calvin and her search to find out about the life that her mother led in 1960-1961 and her part in the "movement". She found out about her mother's secret past only after her mother died. Her mother left a journal that was hidden and locked away. When Ellie found it and read it she went on a quest to find out about her mother's life and "HIM", the person her mother was so in...more

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Jul 21, 2011 Jamie Piscitelli rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: first-reads

I was very happy to receive a copy of this book through the Goodreads giveaway.

Henry writes a fast paced book about lost loves and rewriting your own story through the voice of Lillian (Ellie) Eddington Calvin and her mother's diary.

I feel that everyone can relate to this book. Many people know what love is and just as many have lost love. Ellie Eddington Calvin is such a strong female character that is caught in her mother's past and her own present. The only thing that I thought was odd abou...more

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Aug 18, 2011 Laura Ashlee rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: 2011, books-i-own, adult, chick-lit, fiction, realistic, romance, civil-rights, southern, purchased, print, standalones

Review posted 8/18/2011 at Owl Tell You About It.

This is one of those times where I feel like I’m at a loss for words. How do you explain something so emotionally intense. I’ll start by simply saying you should read this book. It’s just… really good. It’s beautiful and heartbreaking and touching all at the same time. It’s the first book I’ve read by Patti, but it most certainly isn’t the last. I’ve already be reading the synopses of her other books, trying to decide which one I want to read firs...more Review posted 8/18/2011 at Owl Tell You About It.

This is one of those times where I feel like I’m at a loss for words. How do you explain something so emotionally intense. I’ll start by simply saying you should read this book. It’s just… really good. It’s beautiful and heartbreaking and touching all at the same time. It’s the first book I’ve read by Patti, but it most certainly isn’t the last. I’ve already be reading the synopses of her other books, trying to decide which one I want to read first.

Ellie is one of those characters you can’t help but love immediately. She’s so easy to relate to, which I think is a little unusual for me since I’m twenty-three and she’s forty-eight. She just has such a young spirit. I can also relate to her relationship with her husband. Also a little strange since I’m so young. Still, I’ve been in the kind of relationship where the other person feels they have to control everything in whatever way they can: guilt, anger, sweetness. It’s definitely not the way you want to live the rest of your life, and I can’t imagine how Ellie put up with it for twenty years. Then Hutch shows up, and I immediately fall in love.

Hutch. What a great name. It just sounds like it belongs in a book. It fits the character so well too. He’s so tender. That’s the vibe I got. The easy way Ellie and Hutch are around each other is exactly the kind of thing I think everyone is looking for in love. It’s like they orbit around one another. Talking and touching just comes naturally to them. Maybe it has something to do with the fact that they were in a serious relationship in college. I think (and forgive my romanticism) there are people who just have that kind of connection, a sort of rightness when they’re together.

There’s nothing I can say about her mother’s story. I was floored by it and by what it did to her. I’m still kind of processing that part, I think. I’m so glad my mother and I are close. That’s for sure. It makes me want to read a mother/daughter story… maybe with my mom. She’s reading this book as soon as she finishes The Help. She’s already excited because I’ve talked it up so much. Highly recommend!

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received a copy of this book from the publisher. I did not receive any payment in exchange for this review nor was I obligated to write a positive one. All opinions expressed here are entirely my own and may not necessarily agree with those of the author, the book's publisher and publicist or the readers of this review. This disclosure is in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission's 16 CFR, Part 255, Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.(less)

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by Tamar Cohen

About Patti Callahan Henry

Patti Callahan Henry is the National Bestselling author of six novels with Penguin/NAL (Losing the Moon, Where the River Runs, When Light Breaks, Betweeen the Tides, The Art of Keeping Secrets, and Driftwood Summer).

Patti is hailed as a fresh new voice in southern fiction. She has been short-listed for the Townsend Prize for Fiction and has been nominated for the Southeastern Independent Booksell...more

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Quotes from Coming Up for Air

“When you know you love someone, when you know it's finally the right time, you don't just wait around for the right words, you just say the sentences even if they're all mixed up and imperfect.” — 14 people liked it

“I believe it's a miracle in life when you find people who care about and desire the same things you do, and creativity does that -- brings those people together in one place.” — 5 people liked it

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Coming Up for Air

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