The Fragile Breath - by Sharon V Agar Paperback

Book Synopsis

Based on a true story, this heartwarming and often humorous story follows a fortysomething New Yorker as she uproots her entire life in pursuit of a cure after developing a terminal disease--and ends up finding much more than a new set of lungs.

When Fiona Copeland is diagnosed with terminal lung disease, she risks everything on the chance of a few more years of life.

Far from New York is a lung transplant center that can procure lungs for transplant within a month. But the center requires each patient to bring their own full-time, in-house caregiver with them--and Fiona's husband, Dane, cannot leave town. So, in breach of the center's strict rules, Fiona hires a caregiver and she and her fake husband, Mason, head to Tennessee.

The Johnson's River center is a grueling rehab program where patients exercise for three hours daily to prepare for surgery. Over the course of her first weeks there, Fiona discovers the close bonding that develops among people fighting at high risk--and is devastated when one of the cohort dies. Meanwhile, weeks turn into months without Fiona getting transplant matches. Her marriage suffers from the long distance, and the realization she might actually die threatens to unravel her. But she is thrown a shocking life buoy when Mason's young daughter comes to join them at the center. Captivated by the girl and growing increasingly closer to Mason, Fiona finds herself with compelling new reasons to fight--not least of which is this unexpected found family.

About the Author

Sharon Agar grew up in Hampshire, England, and later moved to the US to attend Yale. After business school, she worked in a variety of fields including both finance and not-for-profit. Her life took a major turn when she was diagnosed with a potentially fatal lung disease and, over the next two years, underwent two lung transplant operations. Her debut novel Out of Options, a business thriller, was published in April of 2014. A lifelong singer and a passionate advocate for organ donation, Agar has three sons and currently lives with her husband in Los Angeles.