POST 4: BREATHING LESSONS CONT.

I READ PART 3 CH. 3 292-326

Mother and daughter's suitcases neatly packed in the trunk, Ira's next task is to back out of Fiona's mother's driveway without hitting her car. He thinks that it might be better if he were to stand outside and let Maggie back the car down the drive as he guides her so that she does not hit the other car or the mailbox. Despite her driving record and this morning's mishap, Maggie Slides behind the wheel.
She cautions Ira not to say anything if she should happen to hit the mailbox, but he tells her that with him guiding her it won't be a problem. True to form, her foot misses the brake pedal as the car rolls backwards and into the mailbox, narrowly missing Ira.

I READ PART 3 CH. 4 327-338

There was a man who had been in Maggie's care at the nursing home once who told her his concept of Heaven, that he would get back everything that he had ever lost on Earth. Since he was talking in such a spiritual vein, Maggie assumed he meant getting back intangible things, like lost youth or passions, but he was much more practical than that. The old man expected to get tangible things back, like the red sweater his mother had made for him that he could never find and the pocketknife his brother threw into a cornfield. Maybe he would even get so lucky as to get back the diamond ring from the girl who ran away with someone else. Maggie and Ira ended in a bed ready for the drive back home the next day.

OVERALL THEME FOR THIS BOOK IS:

Family

Modern American families. Each individual plays a big part on how that family is and will act. For Tyler, the family acts as force on an individual, in both positive and negative ways. In Breathing Lessons, each character has an individual interpretation of the concept of family that coincides with their understanding of their own identity. For example, Ira feels trapped by his family to the point where he felt that "his sisters' hands dragged him down the way drowning victims drag down whoever tries to rescue them." This view of the family extends from Ira's perception of himself as someone cheated out of his dreams.