In the fall of 2009, Catherine’s entire family were gathering for a surprise horror themed birthday party for their youngest sister, Julie, when the unthinkable happened.
Breathe Cry Breathe is Catherine’s devastating, moving and hopeful journey through grief after the traumatic and sudden loss of three close family members.
“Gourdier gently guides the reader across the dangerous, dark road of a preventable tragedy and its resulting devastation, then leads us back to a haven of hope and determination with candour, vulnerability and mercifully, even humour.”
–Erin Davis, bestselling author of Mourning Has Broken
“In Breathe Cry Breathe, Gourdier has crafted a memoir about grief that is at once intensely personal yet completely universal. After suffering an incalculable loss followed by another and another at warp speed, Gourdier details her life before and after the tragedy in an account so brutally honest that you feel plunged into her heart and soul as she struggles to keep living when those she loved have been lost.”
–Kim Izzo, bestselling author of The Jane Austen Marriage Manual
“Catherine Gourdier’s heart-wrenching tale of tragedy and grief is beautifully and hauntingly told. But more importantly, it provides an intimate and tender road map out of the darkness and into the light: a testament to the resiliency of the human spirit and the power of everlasting love.”
–Jeanne Beker, journalist
“A heartfelt testament to the pain and isolation of grief. Breathe Cry Breathe is a hopeful journey that proves there is no way to survive a devastating loss: as bad as it can get, there is always a way through.”
–Anita Lahey, author of The Last Goldfish: A True Tale of Friendship
“Reading Gourdier’s book is like sitting down with a friend and realizing you are not as alone as you thought you may have been on your own grief journey. She shows you that even in the weight of sadness you can still find the lightness of joy, laughter and love.”
–Naomi Snieckus, actor and comedian
“There isn’t a guide book, map or single road that a person follows to deal with grief. We forge our own peculiar and particular way through the heavy fog of loss. We think that we will never truly feel happiness and joy again-but that is simply not true. Gourdier proves that in Breathe Cry Breathe– she talks about grief so openly and so earnestly and so plainly, that it’s instantly all relatable. Using her own vulnerability, she helps her readers feel like it’s all going to be okay. And even when it’s not okay, it’s still okay.
She makes you realize that it’s not impossible to thrive in and amongst the chaos of the grief-that you can still have an authentic life and be able to move forward with love and optimism.”
–Jann Arden, bestselling author of If I Knew Then