Sidura Ludwig

Holding My Breath: a novel

The year is 1947. The world has survived the Second Great War, and in the north end of Winnipeg, Manitoba, Saul and Goldie Levy are married at Royal Alex Hall. Goldie’s parents and her two sisters, Carrie and Sarah, are in attendance. Noticeably absent is her brother Phil, who died during the war in a plane that crashed somewhere in North Africa. Five years later, they will have a child, a daughter they will name Beth. This is her story.

Holding My Breath: A Novel is a poignant coming-of-age tale told from the point of view of Beth Levy, the youngest in a household of two generations of strong Jewish women. There’s her mother, Goldie, who upholds the middle-class values and traditions at home and in the community; her aunt Carrie, who never married and carries a secret, tragic past; and her youngest aunt, Sarah, the most beautiful, wild and rebellious of the three sisters. As Beth grows up, she finds herself navigating between the old world and the new, and the mounting pressure to conform only feeds her longing to escape.

Spanning three decades against the backdrop of the Jewish community in the north end of Winnipeg, Holding My Breath: A Novel is the bold and tender debut novel from a fresh and exciting new voice.

Click here to read the first chapter.

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