... having been breathed out

Yeah, the repercussions of the "late husband" framing are one of the most compelling parts of the book, I think. It leads to things like: Myra refers to things that she and Myron used to do together, you know, as a married couple. They went on a research trip to X place; they had this or that acquaintance. Which gives Myra herself this longer-term existence: in a sense she was there with Myron, she had this back-and-forth relationship with him; she shared things with him. But she also refers to things that ONLY Myron did, like fucking several men at once but not being open to sleeping with women, or writing his book on Hollywood films of the 40s, a life's work which Myra is now hoping to continue in his memory despite the fact that there are points he makes in it that she disagrees with. Of course some of this is just canny posturing, but the extent to which she keeps it up even for the reader suggests it's also at least to some extent how she legitimately thinks of herself and of Myron, or at least a handy shorthand for how she thinks of them. Which, like you say, resonates for me too, even though I'm not trans: I am definitely in dialogue, argument, and /or communion with my past selves on a regular basis.