Mary M. (emeraldfire) -
Janie LaMarche has recently lost her husband Rob in a biking accident. In the four months since his death, she has been balanced on the edge of an overwhelmingly emotional crisis - teetering from heartwrenching grief to blazing anger from day to day. However, her mourning is disrupted by the unexpected arrival of a contractor with a building order to add a porch onto her house. Bewildered by his sudden arrival, Janie slowly realizes that the porch was actually meant to be a surprise from her husband - now his final gift to her.
As a reluctant Janie allows the construction to begin, she steadfastly clings to the familiarity of her sorrow - mothering her two small children with a fierce protectiveness, avoiding well-meaning friends and family, and stewing in a rage she can't release. Yet Janie's self-imposed isolation is continuously breached by a motley crew of unlikely interventionists, all determined to break through her steely shell of grief. The cast of loving intermediaries includes: Janie's chatty Aunt Jude, for whom a stiff slug of ipecac solves everything; her over-manicured, tremendously nosy neighbor Shelly, whose home visits are so regular Janie can almost set her watch by them; her muffin-bearing cousin Cormac, who considers baked goods to be downright therapeutic; and even Tug, the contractor with a private grief all his own.
So, as the porch begins to take shape, Janie discovers that the unknown terrain of the future is better charted a day at a time. And that any potential potholes she may encounter along the way are best navigated with the help of others - even those who she never expected to call on, much less learn to love.
I must say that I thoroughly enjoyed reading this book. Everything about it resonated with me: the story was well-written, the characters were entirely believable, and the plot was very well-developed. I'm going to be putting this author's name right at the top of my wishlist and would certainly give this book an A+!
As a reluctant Janie allows the construction to begin, she steadfastly clings to the familiarity of her sorrow - mothering her two small children with a fierce protectiveness, avoiding well-meaning friends and family, and stewing in a rage she can't release. Yet Janie's self-imposed isolation is continuously breached by a motley crew of unlikely interventionists, all determined to break through her steely shell of grief. The cast of loving intermediaries includes: Janie's chatty Aunt Jude, for whom a stiff slug of ipecac solves everything; her over-manicured, tremendously nosy neighbor Shelly, whose home visits are so regular Janie can almost set her watch by them; her muffin-bearing cousin Cormac, who considers baked goods to be downright therapeutic; and even Tug, the contractor with a private grief all his own.
So, as the porch begins to take shape, Janie discovers that the unknown terrain of the future is better charted a day at a time. And that any potential potholes she may encounter along the way are best navigated with the help of others - even those who she never expected to call on, much less learn to love.
I must say that I thoroughly enjoyed reading this book. Everything about it resonated with me: the story was well-written, the characters were entirely believable, and the plot was very well-developed. I'm going to be putting this author's name right at the top of my wishlist and would certainly give this book an A+!
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