A Scattered Life: a sweet story about family, friends and a place to belong

 A Scattered Life by Karen McQuestion is the story of life, love and finding a sense you truly belong. Skyla Medley is an observer of life. She’s quiet, not shy, as “people are pretty easy to get a handle on if you took the time to watch and listen.” She has lived the nomad life, moving from one place to another, never feeling permanence in any one place. Until one day, she meets Thomas Plinka. When we see Skyla next,  she is married with a four-year-old daughter when new neighbors move in. The Bear family is everything the Plinkas are not. Ted and Roxanne have 5 rambunctious boys, ranging 10 year old twins, Wyatt and Emmett, to baby Ferd, while Thomas and Skyla are as straight laced as they come. Something draws Skyla to the loud and outgoing Roxanne and soon the two become good friends. In the meantime, Audrey, Skyla’s meddling mother-in-law, disapproves of everything Thomas and Skyla are doing, especially when it comes to her friendship with Roxanne. When tragedy strikes the two friends, can Roxanne teach Skyla about opening herself up to love? Will Skyla finally find herself truly belonging to a family and a community?

A Scattered Life is a book with so much life in it that it was hard to put down. Every character was real and relatable, with all their flaws, quirks and annoyances. I’ve known people like Skyla who got restless and moved on, not realizing what she wanted was behind her. Thomas, the reliable and sensible guy who seems so set in his ways that it becomes boring. And the lovable Roxanne, whose loud and messy house seems to be from a lack of control and caring, but hides a mother’s love that is more than just a clean and spotless house. I immediately liked Roxanne. At one point in the story, Skyla complements her organization as Roxanne had anything one of her children could have asked for. I loved Roxanne’s response, “it’s not hard, people only make it hard.” It is a lesson in life, love and belonging. It is the lesson that opening yourself up to love can hurt but it is oh, so worth it. It is discovering you are worthy of a family and a place to call home. There were moments of laughter, of anger and of tears. Just like in life, we must go through the bad to see the good. I recommend A Scattered Life. 

A Scattered Life is available in paperback, eBook and audiobook