The Benefits of Breathing a collection of short stories written by Christopher Meeks. The stories are incredibly wise and mostly talk about human relationships. 

I love how the author brings out amazing endings to each story with simple and wise thoughts. Every story is a masterpiece. The simplicity of these stories is amazing. The reader will connect to at least one of these stories while reading this book. There are stories of a father and a daughter, a broken marriage, a fragile relationship between girlfriend and boyfriend, an online dating experience, and a few more. Love is so important for us that we crave for it in any relationship and that love is the key in each story of this book.

Though this is the first book I have read penned by this author, I immediately fell in love with his writing style. There is a subtle bluntness in the stories that hit hard and make us relate to the realities of life. The title of this book made me pick it and it was totally worth it. All in all, this book is beautiful and intense in a funny way. Now, I want to read the other works of this author.

The book is available on all platforms and the audiobook is also available if you would prefer to listen to it.

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Thanks to Net Galley and the publisher for an advance copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
If this anthology of short stories had a sound track, it would be ‘Elenor Rigby. All those lonely people. Some find love and throw it away, some are so bitter that when love arrives they don’t see it, some are always looking for something better, some don’t find the love they deserve ( at least in the portion told in the story)
As I read each story, I found I quickly took a side- She’s a jerk, he deserves better, or he doesn’t see what he has, always wants something better. And Arggh what is she doing- why is she sabotaging everything ???. And a number of stories pertain to death.
Reading these stories was like listening to friend tell you their marriage troubles, and while you may be on their side sometimes, there is a quiet voice saying- wow this isn’t ALL his fault. She’s horrible to him. And they don’t take your advice.
What the stories all say : Dude, your wife is unhappy, and is thinking of leaving you. If you aren’t actively wooing each other, you are headed to divorce. A lack of fights, but quietness equals thinking of leaving. And finally, she IS too young for you.
I’m a hopeless romantic , and always want the happy ending, which most of these don’t have. Still, I found the stories riveting, and read the whole thing in a day. If you like drama, and raw realities of lost love, you will enjoy this book.
On a side note- I did like all of the LA references, and will need to try some of the places mentioned.

This was an engrossing collection of short stories that prompts the reader to think about the nature of relationships. Meeks' writing style is stunning and kept me hooked from beginning to end of every story.

Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC of this book. I love short stories when they are written well. In my opinion, it takes a truly talented author to be able to pull of a good selection of short stories. You must be able to make the reader feel emotion, understand the story, bond with characters, etc but in a very short amount of words. So, yes....that takes talent. Meeks is a brilliant author able to pull this off wonderfully. Highly recommend.

Look, this has got to be one of the best short story collections I have read in a while and you cannot help but traverse the world of emotions through his stories on love, romance and divorce...and what's great is that you relate to the characters at each turn.
Thanks Netgalley for the eARC.

First I have to say that I am a huge fan of Christopher Meeks. I have loved all of his short stories and novels. So, when I heard he was publishing another short story collection, I jumped for joy!

‘The Benefits of Breathing are 11 short stories about love, romance, relationships, and divorce. The way the stories are ordered made perfect sense and make the stories flow from one to the next very well and add to the enjoyment.

I’ve said it before and I will say it again, Christopher Meeks is a master in the art of writing short stories. In short 11-20 pages, he is able to accomplish what most writers would need an entire novel to get their story across. He has done so with his trademark humor and quirky characters, as well as his keen observation of the human condition.

I love all 11 stories but if I was forced to pick a favorite ‘Joni Paredes’ would be it. I could relate to this character so much. She has a hard time making a commitment. I was married at 20 and divorced two years later. After that I dated a lot and even had a couple 4-6 months relationships but as soon as they guy started talk of moving in or marrying, that was it, I severed ties. It wasn’t until I met my husband Bill at the age of 30 that I met my match. We took it slow and lived together for a year before he even hinted at marriage. It seemed the Joni finally met her match but she ended up running. I’m so glad I took a different path; it just took me awhile to trust myself and a man again. Were coming up to our 25th anniversary in June. Other favorite stories are ‘A Dog Story’ and ‘You Wreak Me Baby’.

If you don’t like short stories, I challenge you to read this collection! Short stories are special, in the hands of the right author. It is a true art form and Meeks always gets it right! Meeks comes out swinging from the first story! I cannot recommend this collection highly enough!

This short story collection about various stages of relationships was beautifully written! This is the first thing that I have read from this author and now I am going to go read more of his work!