R E K. (bigstone) - , reviewed on 8/9/2012 + 1452 more book reviews

Helpful Score: 2

Janie LaMarche loses her husband in a bicycle accident leaving her with two small children to raise by herself. Her grief seems insurmountable as she tries to cope with day to day living without Robbie, her best friend, her lover, her confidante and more. He was the center of her life. Now she lashes out at everyone who tries to help her.

I liked the writing and, yes, I suppose the tale is predictable but the author does such a fine job of helping us understand how grief can change the people we are. Janie feels like she is a "bad mommy" (I hate this phrase), not capable of handling her finances, her children, even her life. Yet people keep rallying around her including her lovable cousin, Father Jake, her crazy Aunt Jude, and her friend, Shelly.

When a contractor arrives to build a front porch on her house she cries endlessly as this is Robbie's last gift to her. Too many people seem to butt into her grief but gradually she realizes that she may be better than she thought she was. Maybe, just maybe, she won't become her mother, who like Janie was left to raise her two children alone. I believe that how she arrives at that conclusion is the point of this story. Grief is a process that each of us who lose someone experiences.

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