Holding my breath : a novel / Sidura Ludwig.

Ludwig's narrator, Beth Levy, is born in 1952 into a household of women with high relationship expectations and thwarted ambitions. Her mother, Goldie, wanted four children and a big house. Maternal aunts Carrie and Sarah wanted, respectively, a lost child and a wildly adventurous life. As for Beth, she yearns to follow in the footsteps of her late Uncle Phil. Told that he had been killed in World War II, Beth sees no impediment, despite Goldie's discouragement, to pursuing the love of astronomy she shares with him. The claustrophobic swamp of too many generations under one roof works against the need of all concerned to carve out their own romantic and professional lives while watching out for those they love. And Beth is caught in the bewildering middle, protected from the foibles of the adults who love her even as they unwittingly use her as an ally and a sounding board for their individual neediness. In her debut novel of a multigenerational Jewish Winnipeg family, award-winning Canadian short story writer Ludwig beautifully illustrates the secrets and sins that erode facades, damage trust, and threaten potential.