Sarah Moon is a cartoonist. She uses her own real life experiences in her comic strip “Just Breathe.”  Sarah’s husband, Jack, works for his family owned construction company. Sarah and Jack have been married for five years, during which time Sarah has stood by and cared for Jack when he had cancer. She went through twelve months of fertility treatments in a desperate attempt to conceive a child to no avail. Then she found Jack with another woman.  Sarah left Chicago and gone home to her family in California to lick her wounds and make a fresh start. As she plans her divorce from Jack she gets two unexpected surprises.  She’s pregnant with Twins.

Will Boon is the boy Sarah had a crush on in high school. He ignored her then. Will is now the town’s Fire Captain and father to his thirteen-year-old stepdaughter Aurora. Will and Sarah begin an unlikely friendship that soon becomes more, but neither of them is in a position to start a relationship. That doesn’t stop them from falling for each other though.

Just Breathe is a wonderful story bathed in vivid realism. Sarah’s response to Jack’s cheating, the birth of her babies, and her feelings for Will, are realistic and packed with emotion. I felt a real connection to Sarah. Either because I had a similar experience to one of hers or I felt I would have reacted the same way she did had I been in her shoes. Jack however handled things very badly. I lost respect for him quickly as he became bitter and selfish. His infidelity infuriated me. Will on the other hand is a knight in shining armor. He is compassionate, gorgeous, and honorable. He’s the perfect man!  Aurora is lovely. She’s a typical teenager struggling to cope with some not so typical issues. Just Breathe is a realistic look at one woman’s life as she faces loss and heartache, then love and joy. Just Breathe is my first Susan Wiggs novel but definitely not my last. She is a wonderful storyteller.