The novel is about a man named David Holiday who leaves Brooklyn after his father's death and moves to the Midwest where he marries an artist. He then returns to New York after the marriage falls apart and turns inward to resolve what he left behind. The novel is entitled Breaking Apart in the Atmosphere and is written mainly in third-person omniscient. Portions of the novel are written in first-person. It is an adult piece of literary fiction that takes place in modern America. The novel provides insight into David's childhood living in a single-parent family and why he chose to enter the military and not be an artist, despite his father's objections. When he returns, he watches his father pass away and leaves to start over again. Carlos, his father's best friend, was a mentor to him and they write each other over the years. David marries an artist who leaves him after he is diagnosed with an illness and he makes two trips across the country when he realizes that his time is finite. He picks up a strange young hitchhiker on the way to visit his ex-wife and meets other characters on his way to New York. On returning, he reconnects with his father's best friend, who has struggled with losses of his own. David learns more about his father and tries to achieve his dream of being an artist before his time is gone.