Emerging Writers Network  *Glance at our interview with Amy Koppelman. A MOUTHFUL OF AIR by Amy Koppelman It is difficult to believe that A Mouthful of Air is a debut novel.  Amy Koppelman has written on a difficult topic (postpartum depression) and done so on her own terms successfully.  Her writing is spare, no excess can be found at all, and her protagonist, Julie, is not the easiest person to like.

When the book begins, Julie is trying hard just toseem normal, both to herself and others around her. She is just a few weeks beyond her attempt, and about to celebrate the first birthday of her first child, Teddy.  Her attempt at suicide that is.   

The main story that is being told is that of Julie, and how postpartum depression can affect the lives of individuals suffering from it, and their loved ones. The only glitch in the novel at all is that she blurs in some other forms of guilt into Julie’s life, creating the possibility of confusion in a reader who has not known somebody with postpartum depression.

Julie is put in seemingly normal situations, and Koppelman allows the reader to get into her mind and see what postpartum depression lets in during these times.  Simply eating a bit of cake at Teddy’s birthday, or sitting through a New York Knicks basketball game with her husband, Ethan, and two of their closest friends become trying events that Julie suffers through, worrying the whole time what she looks like, and what people are thinking of her.

The thing that Koppelman really nails is the understanding that Julie has of her own problem.  She knows when she’s fooling herself and others, as well as when she’s down so far she can’t fool a soul.  When she finds out that she is pregnant for a second time, she sits down with Ethan and her psychiatrist, Dr.Edelman.  They determine that Julie can certainly have another child, but she must be put back on her medication as soon as the baby is born. 

This however would mean that Julie would be unable to, in her mind, be a full mother and breastfeed her baby. The fact that Julie is off of her medicine during the pregnancy, and then continues staying off (to the knowledge of nobody but herself) afterwards, allows the reader to witness the slow spiraling descent that Julie travels.  It is disturbing, but done in such an enthralling manner that you can’t stop reading, even as you begin to realize where the book is headed.

This is a book that should be given to every pregnant mother.  Even with some of the tragedies of the past few years, postpartum depression is still not a topic often discussed by OB/GYN’s with their patients.  This often leads to both a lack of understanding, and a feeling of shame, when it does exist.  Koppelman’s book clearly describes the feelings, methods of dealing with, and possible consequences of ignoring postpartum depression.  It can only help an impending mother to read this book.

4 stars ****

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