Even As We Breathe: A Novel

"Even As We Breathe captures those awkward moments when you’re trying to impress a crush or a new colleague, but you’ve never really learned to play it cool. Set in western North Carolina during World War II, 19-year-old Cowney leaves his home on the Cherokee reservation for a summer job in Asheville as a groundskeeper at the opulent Grove Park Inn. “Heard it’s built on graves,” Cowney says, trying to impress his fellow Cherokee member Essie, who takes a job cleaning rooms at the Inn. This is a novel of intimacy and poignancy but also an exploration of how war and racism affect people’s daily lives. As Cowney puts it, “Empathy is fossilized in our bones.” Annette Saunooke Clapsaddle is herself a member of the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians and a high school teacher."