Review: Learning To Breathe Again (The Work of Becoming #1) by Tonya Cam
Book details:
Book Title: Learning to Breathe Again: A Novel
Series: The Work of Becoming Trilogy – Book 1
Author Name: Tonya Cam
Publication Date: May 5, 2026
Publisher: Hammock Oak Publishing
Pages: 310
Genre: Historical Fiction – 20th Century / Depression Era
Any Triggers: First chapter baby is sick (on page), then dies (off page), very minimal intimacy scenes, cheating spouse.
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Two women. Lives they didn't choose. A friendship that dares them to want more.
Miami, 1933. Mary Simons was supposed to fill her scrapbook with photos of her baby's first smiles, locks of fine hair, and handwritten milestones. Instead, she records respiration rates and temperatures, hoping science can save what love can't. When her baby dies, the future she imagined dies with her.
A thousand miles north, Elena Wagner has spent years trying to bury the girl who nursed her mother and sister through their final days. Silk dresses and a husband who adores her keep the grief at arm's length. But an unplanned pregnancy, and a Depression that won't end, threaten to pull her back into the one role she swore she'd never play again.
A chance encounter at the Chicago World's Fair brings the two women together. When circumstances relocate them both to the sugarcane fields of Depression-era Florida, an unlikely friendship becomes the one thing they can't afford to lose. In a time when women are expected to endure in silence, Mary and Elena must decide: keep performing the lives they're supposed to live, or risk it all for the women they might still become.
A character-driven novel about loss, friendship, and courage. Sometimes the hardest thing isn't holding on. It's learning to breathe again.
For readers of Fiona Davis, Kristina McMorris, Marie Benedict, and Lisa Wingate.
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Available in #KindleUnlimited
4 out of 5 (great)
LEARNING TO BREATHE AGAIN is the first book in The Work of Becoming series, set in America's Depression era, featuring two very different women - on the surface, at least.
Mary is living in Miami and is happily married to Edward, but under strain as she looks after both their daughter and her mother. Understandably, it knocks her off her feet when she loses both within a short amount of time. On the other end of the spectrum, Elena is living in New York City with her husband, William, spending money on silk, going to fancy restaurants and Broadway. Their lives briefly overlap at the World Fair in Chicago, before William and Edward meet up to make future plans.
This was an amazing story, giving me more than I had envisaged. The plight of both Mary and Elena is incredibly detailed, showing just how limited their options are, what society expects of a wife, and how much of a choice they actually had.
I will say, on a personal note as an asthma sufferer, the scenes of the sugar cane burning were so vivid, I found myself taking breaths for Mary.
This was a beautifully written introduction to the series, and I can't wait to continue with the series and see what the future holds for both Mary and Elena. 4 out of 5 great stars.
** The same worded review will appear elsewhere. **
* A copy of this book was provided to me with no requirements for a review. I read this book voluntarily; the comments here are my honest opinion. *
Merissa
Archaeolibrarian
Tonya Cam is a third-generation Floridian, a lifelong collector of Depression-era memorabilia, and a writer drawn to women who are not only surviving. They are becoming.
Learning to Breathe Again is her debut novel and the first book in The Work of Becoming Trilogy. It's the story of two women whose lives collide at the 1933 Chicago World's Fair and whose friendship reshapes them in the sugarcane fields of Clewiston, Florida. It was inspired by her father's memories growing up, and the older brother he lost before he was born.
When she is not writing, she teaches middle school science in Gainesville, Florida. She is also the author of The Complete Guide to Shirley Temple Dolls and Collectibles.
If you love Fiona Davis, Marie Benedict, Lisa Wingate, or Kristina McMorris, you'll love the stories she writes.
Author Links:
Website: https://tonyacamauthor.com/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/tonyacamauthor/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/tonyacamauthor/
Amazon Author Page: https://www.amazon.com/stores/Tonya-Cam/author/B0H1L88PPY
Tour hosted by: The Coffee Pot Book Club
Thanks ever so much for your lovely review for Learning to Breathe Again by Tonya Cam. I’m delighted you enjoyed this moving novel, too.
Take care,
Cathie xx
The Coffee Pot Book Club