Inhale Exhale
About new beginnings and the warmth of family life, Inhale Exhale is an atmospheric, cozy romance novel.
A courageous divorced mother begins dating again in Nicole MacPherson’s emotive novel about midlife revival, Inhale Exhale.
In her fifties, Michelle manages a yoga studio in Calgary. She has a teenage daughter, Livvy, and her ex-husband, Paul, is remarried to Jessica, who is thirty years younger. They alternate weekends as part of their custody deal, generating tension: Livvy feels that Paul is too absent in her life, and her disappointment over her parents’ divorce resists resolution. Meanwhile, Michelle is prompted to address her fears of loneliness.
Its prose enlivened by lighthearted humor, the novel details Michelle’s mishaps as she finds new companionship while keeping up with her commitments. She’s self-conscious about aging; her sister recommends Botox. She uses a dating app without being aware of its poor reputation. Her early mishaps give way to revelations of deep pains, though, as Michelle realizes that she’s changed since she last dated. She feels conflicted about having centered her life on motherhood. When Steve, one of her new yoga students, expresses romantic interest in her, it shifts her story once more.
Progressing in a steady but episodic manner, the book shifts between scenes set in Michelle’s home and those set at her yoga studio. Her relationship with Livvy is warm, though she’s bewildered over Livvy’s moodiness; they also have to navigate generational differences. And her initial connection to Steve is marked by sweet awkwardness; people chime in with advice to smooth the new couple’s way.
Still, Michelle is an ebullient narrator who’s prone to pithy comments and sometimes overcritical self-reflection—she worries about becoming a “sentient cliché,” for example. At her opposite, Steve is patient and self-aware. His relationship with Michelle proceeds in careful stages as he meets her family. They contend with their issues with gentle determination—flirty and growing in familiarity with one another. Personal complications result in some ambiguity, though.
The book’s atmosphere is a cozy one. Christmas decorations are described, and there’s plentiful baking to flesh out the seasonal backdrop. These details complement the book’s theme of new beginnings well. And the story is made homier by the ordinary nature of Michelle’s problems: She juggles her yoga teachers’ schedules and handles Livvy’s worries with skill, exemplifying quiet endurance and repeating “Inhale. Exhale” as a mantra. However, the book’s late-stage pivot to address a character’s vulnerabilities and mental health concerns is at odds with its general tone, resulting in a disjointed, abrupt-feeling conclusion.
In the musing novel Inhale Exhale, a woman mixes new love with family with unpredictable results.
Reviewed by
Karen Rigby
Disclosure: This article is not an endorsement, but a review. The publisher of this book provided free copies of the book and paid a small fee to have their book reviewed by a professional reviewer. Foreword Reviews and Clarion Reviews make no guarantee that the publisher will receive a positive review. Foreword Magazine, Inc. is disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255.
