The Contemps: Spotlight: TRY NOT TO BREATHE by Jennifer R. Hubbard

Jennifer R. Hubbard's sophomore novel, Try Not to Breathe, releases tomorrow, January 19.

Ryan spends most of his time alone at the local waterfall because it’s the only thing that makes him feel alive. He’s sixteen, post-suicidal, and trying to figure out what to do with himself after a stint in a mental hospital. Then Nicki barges into his world, brimming with life and energy, and asking questions about Ryan’s depression that no one else has ever been brave enough—or cared enough—to ask. Ryan isn’t sure why he trusts Nicki with his darkest secrets, but that trust turns out to be the catalyst that he desperately needs to start living again.

blurb and cover image from goodreads

I can't even begin to express how excited I am for this novel. Anything that features a suicidal, or post-suicidal, character who finds a way to move past that is automatically bumped up to the top of my to-read list.

For me, it's personal. Reading stories like this remind me where I've been, where people close to me have been (psych ward? not exactly a fun place to visit), and more importantly, how we each got to where we are now. They remind me how devastatingly loud your own thoughts can be. But they also remind me there is hope, for anyone, and that the best remedy for suicidal depression is often not something prescribed by a doctor. It's just... having a friend, someone who genuinely cares, someone who will listen to what you need to get out of your head, no matter how dark it is. Someone who won't judge you for feeling the way you do.

Someone who wants you to live. All it takes is one person.

Try Not to Breathe takes it a step further, exploring how someone puts their life back together after a suicide attempt. In the author's own words, "I see this book mostly as a story of learning how to live."

And the dedication page pretty much says it all: