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Book Reviews of The Stuff That Never Happened

The Stuff That Never Happened
The Stuff That Never Happened
Author: Maddie Dawson
ISBN-13: 9780307393685
ISBN-10: 0307393682
Publication Date: 8/2/2011
Pages: 336
Rating:
  • Currently 3.7/5 Stars.
 20

3.7 stars, based on 20 ratings
Publisher: Broadway
Book Type: Paperback
Reviews: Amazon | Write a Review

3 Book Reviews submitted by our Members...sorted by voted most helpful

debbiedoo avatar reviewed The Stuff That Never Happened on + 21 more book reviews
Helpful Score: 1
When I started this book, I struggled alittle with it. It didn't seem to really come together for me until almost halfway through. Then it really "took-off" and I had a hard time putting it down.
beebs avatar reviewed The Stuff That Never Happened on
Helpful Score: 1
My first thoughts were that I could not relate to these people (their attitudes about life, their experiences as young people, etc.), but yet I was drawn into the story. And then something happened about halfway through the book. I began to believe the characters. While I still didn't really relate to them, I found them believable and vulnerable, if not exactly to my liking.

And then, as the resolution of the conflicts in the story unfolded, I felt the book held some almost profound thoughts about life and contentment, about self-knowledge and confidence. In this case, the topic was about fidelity (or infidelity as the case may be) and trust and happiness in marriage, but the message could be applied across the board when someone is looking to others (or situations) to make them happy. Happiness and contentment and self awareness/confidence are not found in others or in life's situations. These qualities are byproducts of recognizing, investing in, and trusting in the right things.

Honestly, for a book that appears at the outset to be superficial, and easily discounted as a throwaway story, by the time I finished I found it to be very on-target and to hold some important messages - especially for a person in her/his middle years. While the book will naturally appeal to women, I think men could gain some valuable insight reading this book.

This is not exactly a feel-good read. But it is refreshingly honest and that was very satisfying, indeed.
Missy1019 avatar reviewed The Stuff That Never Happened on + 104 more book reviews
The storyline is interesting and very well written. It explores the issues of marriage, love, infidelity, and the aftereffects of the betrayal and how common it is for couples to ignore the affair and try to move on but unable to. I really enjoyed it and it makes you think about how she made her choices and how she learned from the whole ordeal. I didn't like the way "the other man" betrayed her. I'm not sure if that is how things would play out in real life but all's well that ends well.