Even As We Breathe: A Novel

Cowney Sequoyah, a 19-year-old from Cherokee, North Carolina, takes a summer job at Asheville's Grove Park Inn and Resort, where he meets Essie Stamper, a young Cherokee woman dreaming of a better life. The resort is a temporary home for Axis diplomats and their families, but when the daughter of one of the residents goes missing, Cowney is accused of abduction and murder. He must navigate difficult social, cultural, and ethnic divides to prove his innocence and clear his name, while exploring the immutable nature of the human spirit and the idea that physical existence will not be humanity's lasting legacy.

Format: Paperback / softback
Length: 240 pages
Publication date: 07 March 2023
Publisher: The University Press of Kentucky

Cowney Sequoyah, a nineteen-year-old from Cherokee, North Carolina, yearns to escape his hometown in the heart of the Smoky Mountains. When he lands a summer job at Asheville's luxurious Grove Park Inn and Resort, he sees it as a chance to break free from the suffocating hills that have shaped his life. The resort becomes a temporary home for Axis diplomats and their families, held as prisoners of war during World War II. Amidst this backdrop, Cowney meets Essie Stamper, a young Cherokee woman also working at the inn, with dreams of a better future.

A secret room at the resort becomes their sanctuary, a place where they can escape the confines of the white world and envision a life free from the shadows of their families' pasts. However, outside this refuge, racism and prejudice persist, and when the daughter of one of the residents goes missing, Cowney finds himself accused of abduction and murder.

As We Breathe delves into the themes of bone, blood, and flesh as Cowney navigates complex social, cultural, and ethnic divides. Betrayed by the friends he once trusted, he uncovers deeper mysteries as he works to prove his innocence and clear his name. The novel explores the enduring nature of the human spirit and the belief that physical existence, despite its struggles and injustices, will not be humanity's lasting legacy.

Cowney Sequoyah's journey is a testament to the resilience of the human spirit and the power of hope in the face of adversity. As he confronts his own demons and fights for justice, he discovers that true freedom lies not in escaping one's past but in embracing it and using it as a catalyst for change.

Weight: 376g
Dimension: 153 x 231 x 16 (mm)
ISBN-13: 9781950564323