A Single Breath

by Lucy Clarke

  TOUCHSTONE READING GROUP GUIDE

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  A Single Breath

  When Eva’s husband, Jackson, dies in a fishing accident after less than ten months of marriage, she travels to his native Tasmania, hoping to find comfort and closure by visiting his estranged family. What she discovers, however, is that her husband was not the man she thought he was. As she struggles to come to terms with Jackson’s deception, she finds herself more and more drawn to his brother, Saul, who offers her intimacy, passion, and a window into her husband’s past. When a shocking secret about Jackson comes to light, Eva must find a way to rediscover her own truths and forge a new future.

  Questions for Discussion

  1. Eva suffers greatly in the first half of the novel. She’s devastated by Jackson’s death and then by the miscarriage of their baby, but she also deals with aching loneliness and feeling like she’s lost her identity. Why do you think she repeatedly pushes away her family and Callie to be in Tasmania alone? Do you think it was the right decision for her?

  2. When they first meet, Saul is distant toward Eva, yet over time they develop a close relationship. Despite his desire to tell Eva the truth about Jackson, he does not, and Eva only finds out accidentally. How do you think Eva should have found out? What would you have done if you were Saul?

  3. As the backstory of Jackson and Eva’s relationship emerges, it becomes clear that Eva overlooked a few red flags about her husband: the occasional white lie, his irresponsible spending habits, and the evening she found him crying in the shower. Do you think Eva was too naïve about Jackson? Would you have questioned any of these incidents?

  4. Do you find Jackson at all sympathetic? What do you make of his decision to hide his first marriage from Eva? Do you think his good intentions and genuine love for Eva excuse his behavior in any way?

  5. Jackson tells Eva that meeting her gave him the opportunity to start over: “So many nights I’d lie awake beside you and wonder, if I’d told you the truth from the start, would you still have fallen in love with me? A married bartender from Tasmania who’d committed manslaughter” (p. 328). Do you think Eva would have felt the same way about Jackson had she known the truth?

  6. Discuss how Jeanette and Jackson’s decision to cover up the truth about the bush fire impacts the rest of their lives, shaping their relationship and spawning a series of other lies that spin out of their control. Do you blame one more than the other for the terrible repercussions of this tragic event?

  7. Eva is initially ashamed to tell Callie that she might have feelings for Saul: “She can see by Callie’s expression that she is thinking the exact same thing as Eva: But he’s Jackson’s brother” (p. 160). Were you ever opposed to Saul and Eva’s relationship? Is there a moment in the book that changed your initial opinion?

  8. On p. 336, Eva wonders, “Had she fallen in love with Jackson because he was borrowing the details of Saul’s life, or had she fallen for Saul because he was an extension of Jackson?” What do you think attracts Eva to Saul? Would she have fallen for Saul if she hadn’t known Jackson first?

  9. Both Eva’s mother and Saul and Jackson’s father have endured terrible losses in the past, and their grief has shaped their relationships with their children. Compare and contrast how Eva, Saul, and Jackson cope with the emotional fragility of their respective parents. Do you think it is justifiable to lie to your loved ones if you believe it will spare them from suffering?

  10. Ultimately, Saul forgives Jackson for his mistakes, but he never wants to see him again. What do think about this decision? Do you think Saul and Jackson will ever fully reconcile?

  Enhance Your Book Club

  1. Lucy Clarke indicates in the Author’s Note that Bruny Island was her inspiration behind the fictional setting of Wattleboon. Research Bruny Island with your book club. Does it look the same as you imagined? Why or why not?

  2. Eva finds solace in learning how to free-dive. Have each member of your book club discuss their favorite way to de-stress and unwind. How do these activities make you feel? Why do you think you are drawn to your particular passion?

  3. If you enjoyed A Single Breath, read Lucy Clarke’s previous novel, Swimming at Night, for your next book club meeting. Discuss the similarities and differences between the two novels.

  4. Learn more about Lucy Clarke at www.lucy-clarke.com or follow her on Twitter @LucyClarkeBooks.

  A Conversation with Lucy Clarke

  Where did the inspiration for A Single Breath come from?

  The idea came from two very separate threads. In 2011, I visited Tasmania for the first time and fell in love with its wild beauty and its remote shacks. Later on that year, I heard about a friend-of-a-friend who was leading a double life in order to hide a huge secret from their family. I was intrigued by the idea of the unknowability of those closest to us and thought how devastating it would be to find out the truth only when that person had gone. These two threads began to weave together, stitching themselves into the beginning of a story.

  In the novel, Saul shares his passion for free-diving with Eva. Do you free-dive?

  I learned to scuba dive in Tasmania and had a fantastic time swimming alongside sea dragons, draughtboard sharks, and huge rays, but I found the dive tanks and thick winter wetsuits very heavy and restrictive, so I was excited to try free-diving instead. However, it quickly became apparent that I have the lung capacity of an aging hamster, so my free-diving career never really took off! Luckily my husband free-dives and spearfishes and is very patient when answering the barrage of questions I fire off when he returns to shore.

  Secrets play a large role in A Single Breath. Under what circumstances is keeping a secret necessary?

  There is something so irresistible about secrets. The moment I hear someone whisper, “I’ve got a secret,” my ears prick up. I’m sure that many people keep the odd secret in order to protect someone they care about, and most of these will be harmless enough. But then there are those darker secrets, the ones that are tightly wrapped with lies and presented as truth. Those are the dangerous ones—and also the ones that are wonderfully exciting to explore in fiction!

  What’s next for Jackson, Saul, and Eva? Do you imagine a future for them beyond the ending of the book?

  It is not an easy story with easy answers. I think that Eva and Saul have a tricky path ahead of them. They will have to negotiate many issues, such as: Will their friends and families accept their relationship? Will they choose to make their home in Tasmania or England? Will they one day regret not allowing Jackson back into their lives? For my part, I like to believe that Saul and Eva’s love for each other is strong and deep enough to survive the challenges that await them.

  Jackson tells us that a shack is a bolt-hole, “a place to disappear to when you’re craving some space, some wilderness” (p. 73). Do you have a bolt-hole?

  Yes, I do! My bolt-hole is actually a beach hut on the south coast of England, where I do much of my writing. I love being near the water when I write, and I also love that feeling of space and quiet: no emails, no phone calls, just the sea and my notebook. Heaven!

  According to your author bio, you and your husband spend your winters traveling. How does travel inform and inspire your writing?

  There is something about slinging a few belongings into a bag and heading off on a plane, train, or ferry that gives me the most incredible sense of freedom. The break from routine, the stepping out of one’s ordinary world and into another, is surely good for the soul. (At least, it feels very good to my soul!) What I see, hear, smell, and taste while traveling certainly inspires my writing, but it is also the very fact of being away that I find interesting in terms of fiction. I’m intrigued to see how characters behave outside the usual parameters of their daily lives. Routine can be limiting, so I like to explore what happens when a character is taken out of their comfort zone and dislocated from their family and friends. What then?

  How was the process of writing A Single Breath different�
��if at all—from writing your debut novel, Swimming at Night?

  The process was very similar in that both novels started as a simple idea, which I then drafted and redrafted, layering it into a story. The main difference was that I was running a business when I was writing Swimming at Night, so it took me much longer to complete the novel. With A Single Breath, I was able to enjoy the luxury of being a full-time novelist, so I could completely immerse myself in the story for long stretches of time.

  Read on for a look at Lucy Clarke’s

  Swimming at Night

  Available in paperback July 2014 from Touchstone Books

  A young woman travels around the globe in search of answers about her sister’s mysterious death in this “tender and intricate meditation on sisterhood and family . . . an accomplished debut” (New York Times bestselling author Lisa Unger).

  People go traveling for two reasons: because they are searching for something, or they are running from something.

  Katie’s world is shattered by the news that her headstrong and bohemian younger sister, Mia, has been found dead at the bottom of a cliff in Bali. The authorities say that Mia jumped—that her death was a suicide.

  Although they’d hardly spoken to each other since Mia suddenly left on an around-the-world trip six months earlier, Katie refuses to accept that her sister would have taken her own life. Distraught that they never made peace, Katie leaves behind her orderly, sheltered life in London and embarks on a journey to discover the truth. With only the entries of Mia’s travel journal as her guide, Katie retraces the last few months of her sister’s life and—page by page, country by country—begins to uncover the mystery surrounding her death.

  “A great read for fans of smart contemporary women’s fiction as well as thriller and mystery readers” (Library Journal, starred review), Swimming at Night weaves together exotic settings, suspenseful plot twists, and familial bonds in a powerful tale of secrets, loss, and forgiveness.

  Excerpt from Swimming at Night copyright © 2013 by Lucy Clarke

  1

  Katie

  (London, March)

  Katie had been dreaming of the sea. Dark, restless water and sinuous currents drained away as she pushed herself upright on the heels of her hands. Somewhere in the apartment her phone was ringing. She blinked, then rubbed her eyes. The bedside clock read 2:14 a.m.

  Mia, she thought immediately, stiffening. Her sister would get the time difference wrong.

  She pushed back the covers and slipped out of bed, her nightdress twisted around her waist. The air was frigid and the floorboards were like ice against the soles of her feet. She shivered as she moved through the room, her fingers spread in front of her like sensors. Reaching the door, she groped for the handle. The hinges whined as she pulled it open.

  The ringing grew louder as she picked her way along the darkened hall. There was something troubling about the sound in the quiet, sleep-coated hours of the night. What time would it be in Australia? Midday, perhaps?

  Her stomach stirred uneasily remembering yesterday’s terrible fight. Words had been sharpened to injure and their mother’s name had been flung down the phone line like a grenade. Afterwards, Katie was so knotted with guilt that she left work an hour early, unable to concentrate. At least now they’d have a chance to talk again and she could tell Mia how sorry she was.

  She was only two steps from the phone when she realized it was no longer ringing. She hovered for a moment, a hand pressed to her forehead. Had Mia hung up? Had she dreamed it?

  Then the noise came again. Not the phone after all, but the insistent buzz of the apartment intercom.

  She sighed, knowing it would be late-night visitors for the traders who lived upstairs. She leaned towards the intercom, holding a finger to the Talk button. “Hello?”

  “This is the police.”

  She froze, sleep burning off like sea mist on a sunny day.

  “We’d like to speak to Miss Katie Greene.”

  Her pulse ticked in her throat. “That’s me.”

  “May we come up?”

  She released the front door, thinking, What? What’s happened? She switched on the light, blinking as the hall was suddenly illuminated. Looking away from the glare, she saw her bare feet, toenails polished pink, and the creased trim of her silk nightdress against her pale thighs. She wanted to fetch a robe, but already the heavy tread of feet sounded up the stairway.

  She opened the door and two uniformed police officers stepped into her hall.

  “Miss Katie Greene?” asked a female officer. She had graying blonde hair and high color in her cheeks. She stood beside a male officer young enough to be her son, who kept his gaze on the ground.

  “Yes.”

  “Are you alone?”

  She nodded.

  “Are you the sister of Mia Greene?”

  Her hands flew to her mouth. “Yes . . .”

  “We are very sorry to tell you that the police in Bali have informed us—”

  Oh God, she began to say to herself. Oh God . . .

  “—that Mia Greene has been found dead. She was discovered at the bottom of a cliff in Umanuk. The police believe she fell—”

  “No! NO!” She spun away from them, bile stinging the back of her throat. This couldn’t be real. It couldn’t be.

  “Miss Greene?”

  She wouldn’t turn. Her gaze found the bulletin board in the hallway where invites, a calendar, and the business card of a caterer were neatly pinned. At the top was a map of the world. The week before Mia left to go traveling, Katie had asked her to plot her route on it. Mia’s mouth had curled into a smile at that, yet she indulged Katie’s need for schedules and itineraries by marking a loose route that began on the west coast of America and took in Australia, New Zealand, Fiji, Samoa, Vietnam, and Cambodia—an endless summer of trailing coastlines. Katie had been tracking the route from Mia’s infrequent bursts of communication, and now the silver drawing pin was stuck in Western Australia.

  Staring at the map, she knew something wasn’t right. She turned back to the police. “Where was she found?”

  “In Umanuk,” the female officer repeated. “It’s in the southern tip of Bali.”

  Bali. Bali wasn’t on Mia’s route. This was a mistake! She wanted to laugh—let the relief explode from her chest. “Mia isn’t in Bali. She’s in Australia!”

  She caught the exchange of glances between the officers. The woman stepped forward; she had light-blue eyes and wore no makeup. “I’m afraid Mia’s passport was stamped in Bali four weeks ago.” Her voice was gentle, but contained a certainty that chilled Katie. “Miss Greene, would you like to sit down?”

  Mia couldn’t be dead. She was twenty-four. Her little sister. It was inconceivable. Her thoughts swam. She could hear the water tank downstairs humming. A television was playing somewhere. Outside, a late-night reveler was singing. Singing!

  “What about Finn?” she asked suddenly.

  “Finn?”

  “Finn Tyler. They were traveling together.”

  The female officer opened up her notebook and spent a moment glancing through it. She shook her head. “I’m afraid I don’t have any information about him currently. I’m sure the Balinese police will have been in contact with him, though.”

  “I don’t understand any of this,” Katie whispered. “Can you . . . I . . . I need to know everything. Tell me everything.”

  The police officer described the exact time and location at which Mia had been found. She told her that medical assistance had arrived swiftly on the scene, but that Mia was pronounced dead on their arrival. She explained that her body was being held at the Sanglah morgue in Bali. She confirmed that there would be further investigations, but that so far the Balinese police believed it was a tragic accident.

  All the while Katie stood completely still.

  “Is there someone you would like us to contact on your behalf?”

  She thought instantly of their mother. She allowed herself a moment to
imagine the comfort of being held in her arms, the soft cashmere of her mother’s sweater against her cheek. “No,” she told the officer eventually. “I’d like you to leave now. Please.”

  “Of course. Someone from the Foreign Office will be in touch tomorrow with an update from the Balinese police. I’d also like to visit you again. I’ve been assigned as your Family Liaison Officer and will be here to answer any questions you have.” The woman took a card from her pocket and placed it beside the phone.

  Both officers told Katie how sorry they were, and then left.

  As the door clicked shut, the strength in Katie’s legs dissipated and she sank onto the cold wooden floor. She didn’t cry. She hugged her knees to her chest to contain the trembling that had seized her. Why had Mia been in Bali? Katie didn’t know anything about the place. There was a bombing outside a nightclub some years ago, but what else? Clearly there were cliffs, but the only ones she could picture were the grass-covered cliffs of Cornwall that Mia had bounded along as a child, dark hair flying behind her.

  She tried to imagine how Mia could have fallen. Was she standing on an overhang and the earth crumbled? Did a sudden gust of wind unbalance her? Was she sitting on the edge and became distracted? It seemed absurdly careless to fall from a cliff. The facts Katie had been given were so few that she couldn’t arrange them into any sort of sense. She knew she should call someone. Ed. She would speak to Ed.

  It was her third attempt before she managed to dial correctly. She heard the rustle of a duvet, a mumbled, “Hello?” and then silence as he listened. When he spoke again, his voice was level, telling her only, “I’m on my way.”