Breath Taking

"A master class in how to be a person."  --Joanna Rakoff, bestselling author of My Salinger Year

"Astonishing...one of the most moving memoirs I've read."  --Caroline Leavitt, best-selling author of With or Without You and the forthcoming Days of Wonder.

At the age of five Jessica Fein’s daughter Dalia was diagnosed with a rare degenerative disease that would claim her life at 17. Before that moment came, and inspired by Dalia’s own insuppressible zest for life, Fein and her family would discover how to live in the present when the future can’t be fixed. In this heartfelt yet clear-eyed memoir, Fein maps both her journey to becoming an adoptive mom and the roller coaster ride of loving and caring for a terminally ill child, persevering when the simple act of taking a breath can become an act of courage. Through it all, she discovers the need to be both relentless advocate and calm presence, to show vulnerability as well as strength, and to allow joy to be louder than sorrow.

"More than an honest and humorous memoir, Breath Taking can be the guide star so many seek when life hands them more than they ever imagined they could endure."  --Daniel DeFabio, rare disease filmmaker and Co-founder of The Disorder Channel 

“A story of relentless heartbreak met with wit, strength, and resilience.” –Jennifer Weisel Bailey, ELLE Magazine

ADVANCE PRAISE for BREATH TAKING:

"This story truly matters and people need to hear it. Breath Taking is a remarkable celebration of resilience, and a true testament to strength, love, and survival. It shows us that there's always a path forward even when it's too dark to see. You'll probably laugh and cry, and you'll for sure be inspired." --Victoria Arlen, TV host and Paralympic gold medalist

"A moving, honest, and emotionally powerful story of family dedication, pain, and love. This is a book that is both wrenching and inspiring, all at once." --Tova Miris, author of The Book of Separation

“An epic story of love and resilience.”   --Kirkland Hamill, author of the critically acclaimed memoir Filthy Beasts  

 "Jessica throws aside pride and pretense expressing with generous vulnerability the heartbreaks and hopes that come with raising a child with a rare disease. More than an honest and humorous memoir, Breath Taking can be the guide star so many seek when life hands them more than they ever imagined they could endure."  --Daniel DeFabio, Co-founder Disorder: The Rare Disease Film Festival, Co-founder The Disorder Channel. Advocate.

“A story of relentless heartbreak met with wit, strength, and resilience, Jessica Fein’s memoir reminds us that optimism, perseverance, and ultimately acceptance are the keystones to surviving life’s curveballs. When the choices are curling up in the fetal position or facing adversity head-on, Fein has chosen the latter in spades. Her story is the perfect illustration of how we control nothing in life but our actions and attitude.” --Jennifer Weisel Bailey, Entertainment Director, ELLE Magazine 

 “In Breath Taking, Jessica Fein finds the words to convey the deepest truths of being human and then shares them with vivid candor as if over a cup of coffee.”  --Rabbi Susan Silverman, author of Casting Lots: Creating a Family in a Beautiful, Broken World 

  “Jessica Fein is that rare writer who can defuse sorrow with her sense of humor.” --Dan Zevin, Thurber Prize-winning humorist and award-winning humor columnist for The New York Times