Catching Our Breath

“Listen, are you breathing just a little, and calling it a life?”

“Listen, are you breathing just a little, and calling it a life?” — Mary Oliver

I open On Our Best Behavior with a description of my breathlessness: My battle with chronic hyperventilation began in my 20s, sending me once to the ER and often to bed. Despite all sorts of interventions, it’s been a specter in my life, waiting for the right stew of sleep de…