The Virtues of Oxygen

By: Susan Schoenberger

Narrated by: Tanya Eby, Laural Merlington

From the award-winning author of A Watershed Year comes a heartrending story of unlikely bonds made under dire straits. Holly is a young widow with two kids living in a ramshackle house in the same small town where she grew up wealthy. Now barely able to make ends meet editing the town's struggling newspaper, she manages to stay afloat with help from her family. Then her mother suffers a stroke, and Holly's world begins to completely fall apart.

Vivian has lived an extraordinary life, despite the fact that she has been confined to an iron lung since contracting polio as a child. Her condition means she requires constant monitoring, and the close-knit community joins together to give her care and help keep her alive. As their town buckles under the weight of the Great Recession, Holly and Vivian, two very different women both touched by pain, forge an unlikely alliance that may just offer each an unexpected salvation.

©2014 Susan Schoenberger (P)2014 Brilliance Audio, all rights reserved.

inspired

liked it. thought provoking. makes you wonder how you would handle a situation as this. as a believer and follower of Jesus I would know the life lived here is not the end.....only the beginning.

Lovely story with no easy answers

The two main characters are women whose lives contain no easy answers. One is a young widowed mother working as a small town newspaper editor. The other lives in an iron lung as a result of childhood polio. Their lives intertwine through a unique friendship described in this lovely story. Humor and facing reality coexist for them, making this a very enjoyable read. The narrator does a great job with these two as well as the many other entertaining characters. I wish there was more oxygen to come...

made me "29 yr old male who is a tough guy" cry.

this is my most favorite story ever. out of all the stories from all the media devices I have this is the best. just such a great message and gave me a paradigm shift. well worth the listen.

excellent story

I listened to this book in one day, I just could not stop. The narrations were excellent.

Not sure if this was based on a true story or not

Either way it is a fabulously written book. I will admit, I would be like a lot of people and wouldn't be able to handle seeing Viv on a daily basis. The strength in these women amaze me! Will definitely read more from this author!