Weight of Breathing

By Ty Cratic

A novel about grief, silence, and the slow, quiet fight to keep going.

Jacob knows how to perform. With every perfectly folded speech and every nod of approval, he passes for the version of himself the world expects: calm, capable, untouched by tragedy. But beneath the polished surface, Jacob is unraveling. Ever since his younger brother Ben died by suicide, he's been silently writing letters no one will ever read and folding them into a shoebox under his bed.

As the year wears on, Jacob begins to crack under the weight of everything unsaid. Panic attacks. Missed connections. Self-doubt disguised as perfectionism. His best friend Michael tries to keep showing up, but grief is a language neither of them fully knows how to speak.

Told in sparse, lyrical chapters, The Weight of Breathing is a deeply human story about the ache of loss, the pressure to perform, and the slow, defiant choice to stay-even when it would be easier to disappear.

For anyone who's ever felt broken but didn't know how to say it out loud.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: B0F8B5P9ZQ
• ISBN13: 9798283301976
• Release Date: May 2025
• Publisher: Independently Published
• Length: 62 Pages
• Weight: 0.21 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.1" x 6.0" x 9.0"