Invisible as Air by Zoe Fishman is a poignant portrait of a family struggling with grief over their stillborn baby.

Forty-six year old Sylvie Snow is not an easy woman to like. She makes no effort to hide her irritation and resentment of her husband, Paul. His broken ankle is just her latest frustration with his Triathlon training. On the third anniversary on the loss of their stillborn daughter, Delilah, Sylvie's slippery slope of opioid dependency begins. Her curiosity over Paul's description of how oxycontin makes him feel results with her taking the first pill. But the drug's effects on her grief and negative emotions are why she continues taking them. Before long, Sylvie's need for more pills leads to poor decisions that could have devastating effects on her life and marriage.

In the three years since their heartrending loss, Sylvie's and Mark's marriage has been on a downward spiral. Sylvie has closed herself off emotionally and seethes with anger over Mark's ability to move on after losing Delilah. She is distant, bitter and clings tightly to the grief she believes only she is entitled to feel. Mark is dealing with his feelings of loss and emptiness by throwing himself into Triathlon training and online shopping. Their twelve year old son Teddy also deeply feels the loss of his sister but he is left to mourn on his own.

With chapters alternating between Sylvie's, Mark's and Teddy's points of view, Invisible as Air is an engrossing novel with a topical storyline. Mark and Sylvie are not particularly likable characters but it is easy to feel empathy for their heartbreaking loss. Teddy is surprisingly mature for his age but he is shouldering burdens that no child should ever bear. Sylvie's descent into addiction is an all too real problem in today's world. Zoe Fishman brings the novel to a realistic conclusion that will leave readers pondering the Snow family's future. An emotionally compelling novel that I truly enjoyed and highly recommend.
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An excellent representation of how opioid addiction is not limited to race or socioeconomic status. A middle class working mother and wife becomes addicted to the opioids that were prescribed to her husband for an injury that he sustained. Also inferred to other addictions in the home. Husbands exercising and purchasing, sons movie watching. Predictable story line.
Favorite few sentences in the book was , When she finally tells an acquaintance at a party about her addiction and behaviors the friend tells her that she needs a woman friend to talk to and that she will be her friend .
Well written book and an easy read. I will definitely read another novel by this author. Received this book as a goodreads giveaway. ( )

It took me some time to pick up this book, but then I couldn’t put it down.

Invisible as Air has been billed as a story of a family struggling with grief over their stillborn baby, but to me the story is much more than that and is relevant to our times. The struggles so many families face can seem daunting and in the past few years, many have been tricked into believing that opioids are a magic solution to the pain
Sylvie Snow could easily be your neighbor, your sister or your boss. She starts taking her husband's pain pills to cope with grief over the loss of her baby daughter and becomes addicted.
The perspectives alternate between Sylvie, her husband Paul, and their son, Teddy. This could be a real story being told in countless homes across America; a middle aged, upper middle class, suburban Mom with an opioid addiction

The characters are flawed and, in many ways, unlikeable, but the story is compelling, and I am glad I read it. The author did not sugar-coat the realities of life and I can appreciate that.

I was given a free copy of this book from the LibraryThing Early Reviewer's program. All views expressed are my honest opinion.

Invisible as Air by Zoe Fishman is a very highly recommended family drama with a timely topic.

Sylvie Snow does everything for her family. She's working hard at her career, taking care of her family, doing all all the housework and errands, along with the myriad of other little things that are expected of her. She's also trying to plan the Bar Mitzvah for her son, Teddy and taking care of her husband, Paul, who has a broken ankle. It is an exhausting, pressure-filled, never ending cycle. What makes it worse is that Sylvie has never properly grieved for her stillborn daughter, Delilah, who died three years ago. It is the anniversary of Delilah's death and to get through the day Sylvie takes one of the pain pills, Hydrocodone, her husband was prescribed but refuses to take. The Hydrocodone alleviates her stress and anger, while making Sylvie feel good, happy, calm, and patient, so she decides she will allow herself to take it, once in a while, to take the edge off and help her just get through until the Bar Mitzvah is over.

Although she started out with good intentions, Sylvie doesn't take the opioid occasionally. She begins to use it regularly and is soon addicted. While they can tell something is up with Sylvie, her family has their own issues. Paul has been mourning the death of Delilah and the distant behavior of Sylvie through excessive spending and his triathlete events. Now he's almost helpless with his broken ankle. Teddy is twelve, almost thirteen, love movies, and has no friends - until he meets Krystal. Teddy is also the first to realize that his mom is addicted to pills.

In Invisible as Air, Fishman totally captured my attention and presented some of the most realistic, well-developed characters I have read recently. I was not expecting to become so involved and immersed in this novel, but I understood Sylvie. The death of a child is a tragic event and you have to grieve your loss, and talk about it - but who wants to do that with you. I wanted to shake Sylvie and tell her to talk to someone, go to the doctor and tell her how you feel. Get help, for goodness sakes! But it is easier to keep rolling along, staying in denial, trying to hide your pain while it keeps eating at you. And keep doing all the things, all the time. And the whole family is doing this, hiding their pain and not facing it. When she turns to pills, it seems inevitable she would become addicted. It wasn't until the end of the novel that I discovered why Fishman was able to describe the feeling of loss but trying to go on, bless her heart.

The writing is excellent. The narrative moves along at a fast pace as the chapters alternate between the point-of-view of Sylvie, Paul, and Teddy. More information about each character is revealed along the way, and we see some of the root causes of the ongoing pain and the void they are all experiencing, and how they are dealing with everything. Obviously, Teddy knows more than his parents realize, as is the way with tweens (and teens), and he becomes more his own person rather than just their son. Paul has been hiding his shopping addiction too - and I like that Fishman has Paul addicted to online shopping rather than falling into a stereotype.

Invisible as Air would be an excellent choice for a book club. Here is a family in crisis that appears for all intents and purposes to those around them as doing well. It covers the timely topic of an opioid addiction, as well as the loss of a loved one, other addictions, first love, and facing some hard realities. The ending was a satisfying denouement for me and I appreciated how Teddy was the one to help his parents confront everything they were avoiding. Fantastic writing and an emotionally compelling narrative make this a winner.

Disclosure: I received an advanced reading copy of this book from HarperCollins for the TLC Book tour.
http://www.shetreadssoftly.com/2019/10/invisible-as-air.html ( )

The story of the Snow family could be your neighbors’ story or the story of your friends, or even that of your own family.

Sylvie Snow has not been same since the stillbirth of her daughter Delilah three years previously. Now she is preparing for her son Teddy’s upcoming bar mitzvah. On top of this her husband Paul has broken his ankle and his whining and neediness is grating on her nerves. Finally one day Sylvie just can’t take it anymore and takes one of Paul’s Hydrocodone pills. Under the influence of the pills she is calmer and kinder to her family. She likes how they make her feel so begins taking them just to get her through the bar mitzvah. She knows Paul will never notice as he refused to take any of the pills and had told her to throw them out. Thus starts her desperate cycle of addiction. Paul has his own issues dealing with the emptiness he has felt since the loss of his daughter. Teddy discovers the secrets his parents are hiding and is conflicted as to what to do.

Using alternating perspectives of Sylvie, Paul, and Teddy the reader is drawn into the story and becomes invested in the lives of the Snow family. I liked the character of Sylvie. I could relate to the stress she was dealing with on top of the grieving she never fully allowed herself to embrace. Having worked with some gang member kids previously I could understand Teddy’s position in the family – feeling he had to be the parent to his parents. It was a really heavy load for a young teen to bear.

A hauntingly realistic story relevant to today’s social environment. I highly recommend it.

Thank you to LibraryThing and William Morrow Books for the advance reading copy. All views expressed are my honest opinion. ( )