Love, loss, and the strange surprises of ordinary life run through Christopher Meeks's third collection of short stories. It includes:
- A winemaker dreams of Scotland when his daughter shows up
- An actor with a pregnant wife goes on an audition
- "Seven Truths about Love" -- a young man realizes things one active week
- A scientist working at the Jet Propulsion Lab in Pasadena tries to find the oxygen for Mars and for his marriage
- A young poet says she'd rather die than move to North Dakota
In The Benefits of Breathing, Meeks offers stories that are at once humane, quietly funny, and deeply attuned to the complexities of modern life-finding meaning in moments both ordinary and unexpected.
The Los Angeles Times has called his stories "poignant and wise." Author David Scott Milton said, "If you like Raymond Carver, you'll love Meeks." This book is perfect for readers of literary fiction who enjoy Raymond Carver, Alice Munro, or short stories that linger long after they end.
In this volume, stories like "A Dog Story," "Joni Paredes," and "Nestor by the Numbers" explore marriage, new love, and life after loss-by turns touching, surprising, and quietly humorous.
As reviewer Grady Harp notes, "If you've previously discovered the idiosyncrasies of Meeks's writing style and content, rest assured that this new collection not only will not disappoint, but also it will provide further proof that we have a superior writer of the genre in our presence."
As Rosebud magazine editor Roderick Clark says in the foreword, "It's all about love, isn't it?"
