CONCRETE BREATH: A NOVELETTE

By Joseph Bernardez

She came from nothing but pressure, grief, and survival.

In the heart of London's brutal Brent borough, Nia Okafor discovers an underground calisthenics community that transforms far more than her body. What begins as an escape from poverty and emotional collapse slowly becomes a fight for identity, discipline, visibility, and love.

As her transformation spreads online, the world starts watching.
But attention comes with pressure.
Success comes with exposure.
And love comes with fear.

Especially when Aaliyah - a guarded former boxer with scars of her own - enters her life and challenges everything Nia believes about strength, vulnerability, and survival.

Concrete Breath is a gritty, emotionally charged romantic novelette about rebuilding yourself when life has already tried to break you. Set against the rain-soaked streets, council estates, and outdoor gyms of modern London, this unforgettable story blends romance, resilience, grief, fitness culture, and raw emotional realism into a powerful contemporary narrative readers will not forget.

For fans of emotionally intelligent urban fiction, literary romance, Black British storytelling, and transformative women's fiction.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: B0H1S7Y3BG
• ISBN13: 9798196877803
• Release Date: May 2026
• Publisher: Independently published
• Length: 238 Pages
• Weight: 0.62 lbs.
• Dimensions: 8.5" x 0.6" x 5.5"