First Look

Hi:


I am the author of the new book Breathe for Me.  I can't tell you how excited I am to be able to share my first excerpt from the book.  This project was placed on my heart years ago but of course life happened.  However, I can honestly say that I needed those years to grow and mature so that I could produce the wonderful story that God intended for me to deliver. It is by His power alone that I am able to come this far. Now I am thrilled to see that it has finally come to life.   If you have a second, review it and let me know what you think by adding your comments at the very bottom.  


Love ya and stay blessed.
~Terri Whitmire

Chapter 1

It wasn’t supposed to be like this. It wasn’t supposed to be like this. This can’t be happening.

Tara’s sheets lay crumpled at the bottom of their bed. A plump untouched pillow lay next to hers, ushering her back to the realization that she was yet again alone. She steadied her legs and defiantly marched herself into the bathroom; there was no time for self pity. The cool water hit Tara’s face with an unfulfilled promise of restoring her focus. She continued to navigate the water across her forehead, cheekbones and lips paying special attention to the dried up tears that sat in the creases of her eyes. As she patted her face dry, a blurry reflection glared back from the mirror. She tugged on her eyes. They told the story of an unsettling nights sleep. Tara grabbed her toothbrush and vigorously brushed forgetting to even apply toothpaste. Her face was void of any color, the life… her life had been drained out of her. No amount of personal grooming could fix the sorrow she felt. She wondered what it was about her that made people want to leave.

Rushing back to their otherwise meticulous bedroom, she jerked open the top dresser drawer almost toppling over their five-by-seven-framed picture; taken during happier times. As the tears began to well up, Tara’s vision began to blur. Focus, she had to focus. She was determined to quickly find something to wear; something that hid the pain and covered the scars of a lifetime of abandonment. She pulled open the bottom drawer rumbling through two piles of worn out sweatpants until finally settling on her grey Nike sweat suit.

Tara pulled her hair into a pony-tail, slid her feet into her white laced Reeboks and headed downstairs. Tears like these hadn’t made an appearance for some time but now they were back with a vengeance.

Tara's eyes darted from the kitchen table across the counters and finally to the front door, where she spotted her keys still hanging in the lock. Two lefts and a right turn on Livingston Road and she would be at Fort Washington Hospital. The uncertainty of what she would find when she got there was terrifying.