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Book Review of The Stuff That Never Happened

The Stuff That Never Happened
beebs avatar reviewed 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.