Skip content
Holding Her Breath by Eimear Ryan
  Add to Wish List

Almost ready!

In order to save audiobooks to your Wish List you must be signed in to your account.

      Log in       Create account
Phone showing make the switch message

Limited-time offer

Get two free audiobooks when you make the switch!

Now’s a great time to shop indie. When you start a new membership supporting local bookstores with promo code SWITCH, we’ll give you two bonus audiobook credits at sign-up.

Make the switch
Libro.fm app with gift bow

Gift audiobook credit bundles

You pick the number of credits, your recipient picks the audiobooks, and your local bookstore is supported by your purchase.

Start gifting

Holding Her Breath

Due to publisher restrictions, this audiobook is unavailable for purchase in your selected country.
Narrator Clara Harte

This audiobook uses AI narration.

We’re taking steps to make sure AI narration is transparent.

Learn more
Length 7 hours 17 minutes
Language English
  Add to Wish List

Almost ready!

In order to save audiobooks to your Wish List you must be signed in to your account.

      Log in       Create account

Summary

Brought to you by Penguin.

A young woman comes of age in the shadow of her family's tragic past

When Beth Crowe starts university, she is shadowed by the ghost of her potential as a competitive swimmer. Free to create a fresh identity for herself, she finds herself among people who adore the poetry of her grandfather, Benjamin Crowe, who died tragically before she was born. She embarks on a secret relationship - and on a quest to discover the truth about Benjamin and his widow, her beloved grandmother Lydia. The quest brings her into an archive that no scholar has ever seen, and to a person who knows things about her family that nobody else knows.

Holding Her Breath is a razor-sharp, moving and seriously entertaining novel about complicated love stories, ambition and grief - and a young woman coming fully into her powers.

'A beautiful coming-of-age story told with impressive skill and lightness of touch . . . I absolutely loved it' LOUISE O'NEILL

'Precise, sure, engaging, and a joy to read' RODDY DOYLE

'A nimble account of student life with a darkly enjoyable undercurrent of secrecy and emotional turmoil' SARA BAUME

'Through the dark sky of our times, Eimear Ryan arrives like a comet, a bright talent scorching through every page' DOIREANN NÍ GHRÍOFA, author of A Ghost in the Throat

'Brilliantly realised, gripping, and moving . . . This is absolutely the real thing' KEVIN POWER

© Eimear Ryan 2021 (P) Penguin Audio 2021

Phone showing make the switch message

Limited-time offer

Get two free audiobooks when you make the switch!

Now’s a great time to shop indie. When you start a new membership supporting local bookstores with promo code SWITCH, we’ll give you two bonus audiobook credits at sign-up.

Make the switch
Libro.fm app with gift bow

Gift audiobook credit bundles

You pick the number of credits, your recipient picks the audiobooks, and your local bookstore is supported by your purchase.

Start gifting

Reviews

Through the dark sky of our times, Eimear Ryan arrives like a comet, a bright talent scorching through every page. To read this book is to feel it blaze to life. I can't stop thinking about it A beautiful coming-of-age story told with impressive skill and lightness of touch. It marks the arrival of an exciting new voice on the Irish literary scene, one whom I can't wait to hear more from. I absolutely loved it Whip-smart observations and addictive prose Effortlessly weaving together a gripping, multi-layered plot, while maintaining a profoundly tender touch, Ryan has marked herself as a captivatingly original voice in Irish literature A joy to read ­- disarming, entertaining and life-affirming. A blisteringly good portrayal of complex lives and loves. It's an enthralling debut from a hugely talented writer Brilliant, vivid - I enjoyed this book ENORMOUSLY Eimear Ryan is a superbly talented writer and Holding Her Breath is a brilliantly realised, gripping, and moving first novel, full of startling perceptions and richly believable characters. This is absolutely the real thing A confident, textured, fluent novel about first love - and the campus novel sections are a pure joy A stunning debut from this new Irish talent, as well as being an exciting page turner it's also a perfect depiction of how it feels to be lost as you embark on a new chapter of your life Enthralling So finely polished it gleams, and yet it's also almost effortless reading . . . new, bright, exciting, glittering. I absolutely loved it Very assured . . . a refreshing, accomplished debut It's a truly compelling read, and one I wholeheartedly recommend I very much enjoyed reading this one and if you love intimate coming of age tales as much as I do, you have to pick this up An engaging narrative . . . written with perfect poise Richly accomplished . . . a true pleasure to read Funny, dark and unexpected From the first sentence to the last, this is a great piece of writing - precise, sure, engaging, and a joy to read A moving debut with a satisfying conclusion A delicious read . . . A nimble account of student life with a darkly enjoyable undercurrent of secrecy and emotional turmoil Written with a wonderful clarity and insight, Holding Her Breath lingers in the imagination. Beth's unravelling and re-ravelling is drawn with great skill and empathy. A brilliant debut Stylishly written, with strong female voices Expand reviews