Writing instructor publishes historical novel based on his ancestor's Civil War dilemma: heal or fight

The Rev. David P. Bridges, adjunct professor of writing at the University of Richmond, has published an historical novel, “The Broken Circle,” that focuses on the young physician James Breathed and the conflict Breathed faced during the Civil War: to heal or to fight.

Breathed, the author’s great, great uncle, was “a morally sensitive, philosophically inclined young man” who became an “effective warrior” under Gen. Robert E. Lee’s command, according to Donald W. Livingston, professor emeritus at Emory University. He was awarded the Confederate Medal of Honor posthumously for extraordinary heroism during the battle of Spotsylvania Courthouse

Bridges fills the book with historic figures and detailed battle scenes. Along the way, Breathed falls in love with Mollie Macgill, a complex character with a talent for espionage. The book follows their struggles during and after the war with the decisions they made.

The book is being distributed by Resource Publications, an imprint of Wipf and Stock Publishers in Eugene, Ore. It is available at Wipfandstock.com and Amazon.com.

Bridges studied fiction writing at Hollins University and Johns Hopkins University. He served as a Presbyterian minister for a quarter century, and is chaplain at Hunter Holmes McGuire Veterans Hospital in Richmond. He holds degrees in economics from the University of Kentucky, and a master’s of divinity from Louisville Presbyterian Seminary. He also studied at the University of Chicago Divinity School.

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