A review by wardenred
Breathing Underwater by Sarah Allen

emotional hopeful inspiring reflective medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

 
Nobody can be in charge of someone else’s happiness. But what does that really mean? If that was true, was it pointless to try to help?

Such a beautiful, touching book that I feel is so important. Recently, the number of stories that focus on what it's like in a mentally ill person's head has been increasing, and I'm glad it is so. It's something that needs to be discussed, both in order for those of us whose brains are actively working against us to see ourselves in fiction and to help others understand. But Breathing Underwater does a no less valuable job by presenting the view of someone close to a mentally ill person. Because—I'm saying this as someone who's been on both side of the divide—it's a big struggle, too. 

Olivia had such a mature outlook throughout the book, even when she inevitably snapped for a bit at one point. The way she wanted to make her sister Ruth feel better and struggled against her inability to do so, the way she tried to figure out whether she should tone down the louder, perkier aspects of her personality, the way she used her art (photography) to try and communicate—all of that was just so relatable. I also loved how Ruth's storyline was treated. She did get better at the end, but it was clear that she didn't get magically cured. There are going to be bad days ahead, and The Pit will come calling, and the point of the story is so clearly not about overcoming depression once and for all, but about learning to live with it and sometimes defeat it on a daily basis. And while of course it's mainly the ill person's battle, those who surround them have their own challenges—and their own weapons.

Even outside the central mental health aspect, I just loved the relationship between the sisters, with all the pitfalls and tenderness. And their relationship with their parents' friends who are taking them on their roadtrip, as well. Ellie and Eddie are both the kind of adults I think I wanted to see around myself growing up. And the girls' parents are pretty awesome, too. It was great to see how while Olivia sometimes felt that things were mostly about Ruth, as soon as she needed love, support, and acceptance herself, she immediately got it from the adults around them, without Ruth losing any.

All in all, despite the heavy topic at the heart of this story, it was ultimately so heartwarming and hopeful for me. I'll definitely need to look more into Sarah Allen's work. 
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