Anne Tyler's 1988 novel "Breathing Lessons" takes the reader through a single day in the life of middle-aged couple Ira and Maggie Moran. These two have been married for many years but have drifted apart, primarily because of their different personalities. Ira is logical, cold, and methodical, while Maggie is emotional, friendly, and slightly scatter-brained. The story opens with Maggie causing an automobile accident while pulling out of a garage that had just finished repairing the car after her last accident. She missed the oncoming traffic because she was distracted by a caller to a radio show announcing a second marriage, and she convinced herself the caller was her former daughter-in-law, Fiona. Ira and Maggie travel from Baltimore to Pennsylvania for the funeral of a childhood friend, where they interact with their middle-aged former classmates, many of whom lament their lost youth. On the way home, Maggie convinces Ira to stop and visit Fiona and their grandchild, whom they have not seen in years. During this visit, Maggie convinces Fiona to return home with them and have dinner with their son (and her ex-husband) Jesse. The reunion does not go as Maggie had hoped.

Tyler brings to life a set of flawed characters. None is evil, but they cannot get out of their own way. Maggie is friendly and outgoing, but projects her hopes onto others to the point of meddling. Ira recognizes a doomed relationship, so he derails it with cruel frankness. Jessie and Fiona hope to reconcile, but neither is willing to initiate the healing process, and both are too emotionally immature to sustain a successful relationship.

To complicate matters, Ira and Maggie each feel they have given up their dreams for a life of mediocrity. They are unhappy, yet they stay together. On multiple occasions, Maggie tells her husband she will never forgive him; yet she always does.

Through flashbacks to Iran and Maggie's courtship, a reunion of classmates at a funeral, and an attempted reconciliation of a failed marriage, "Breathing Lessons" shines a light on the effects of our changing lives. It shows us reflecting on our decisions and asking "What if..."
Taylor holds a mirror to the well-meaning but self-destructive behavior many of us engage in when we lose direction in our lives.