The description of The Selfless Act of Breathing buy JJ Bola speaks of the life of a refugee, the Black experience in London, a loss, a new beginning, and a transformation. However, it leaves out that the main character begins the book contemplating suicide. That aside, the book narrates the story in a two-time line approach, at times first person and at times third person. Not knowing or understanding Michael's "why" for this final journey makes it challenging to follow him as a character.

Read my complete review at http://www.memoriesfrombooks.com/2023/12/the-selfless-act-of-breathing.html

Reviewed for NetGalley. ( )

This could be quite a difficult read, centered as it is around depression and the intention to end a life. Michael is a teacher in London, from the Congo and having arrived as a refugee when a child. we see his interactions with some of the children in the book and he seems to be an effective teacher, providing a positive role model for the disaffected youth. His father returned to the Congo and is believed to have died there as a result. Michael is suffering a prolonged depression and decides to quit his job, go to America and, when the money runs out, end his life. His story is told in 2 parallel strands, in the first person in his time in London and in the third person in his travels around America. How he intends to actually die is never made terribly clear, it is as if he wishes to cease being rather than to die, if that makes sense. I really felt for Michael. Having suffered depression myself, the tiredness, the effort required to actually make it through the day, the inability to open up about it all felt very real and painful. My route out of it was counseling and I can't recoemmend it enough to those in a similar position. We don't always know what is happening in Michael's head, I'm not sure he's always honest with himself, and so there remains an element of ambiguity about the fate of his father and his father's role in his life. His relationship with his mother seems frozen at that mid teen age, when his father left, and they have both fallen into a role that satisfies neither well. When his mother wants to change and marry someone Michael can't deal with this, possibly because they have never properly processed the leaving and death in the first place. There's a hell of a lot packed into this, a lot of it raw and painful but it is not without some optimism. People can make a difference to each other, it can be a case of the right person at the right time. ( )

Michael, an immigrant to London from Congo as a baby, is depressed. He's a well-respected teacher who increasingly hates his job. He makes stuttering attempts at life, love, and travel, but all he wants to do is die. This is a very good depiction of depression. The best thing about it is the title. ( )

Had the ending been satisfactory I'd have given it 4 stars. There are too many unanswered questions, like the author didn't bother providing a conclusion to some character's journeys ( )

The Selfless Act of Breathing is a well written book dealing with the topic of depression. It was a therapeutic read for me as I really connected with the main character, on many levels. Highly recommend! ( )