There's No Coming Back From This: one woman's journey to reinvent herself

There’s No Coming Back From This by Ann Garvin is one woman’s journey to recover from a disaster and find a new greater life. As she drops her daughter off at the airport for a summer in New York City, Poppy Lively is internally crumbling. After her accountant fled with her money, leaving Poppy with a massive debt to the IRS and virtually bankrupted, Poppy is on the verge of losing everything she worked so hard for. With perhaps a work of kismet, Poppy runs into an old flame, now a big time producer, who offers her a job. A job in the costumes department on a Hollywood film set. She doesn’t know anything about costumes but willing to learn anything and with nothing to lose, she accepts. Added bonus, she is unaware of the ins and outs of Hollywood intrigue and the star status of the actors. As an outsider, Poppy stumbles across corruption with a surprising person at the center of it all. Now she is faced with a choice. Does she keep her head down and not say anything as she usually does? Or does she find the inner strength to show others not to underestimate her? 

There’s No Coming Back From This was an Amazon First Read pick and I have not read anything by Ms. Garvin before. I was intrigued by a “witty and emotional” book. I was quickly annoyed at how whiny Poppy was. Right off the bat, I did not like her. At one point, she recalls a call to the bank and she explodes at the teller because she assumed Poppy was married: “There’s no husband! What year is this?” I understand she was under immense stress, owing money to the IRS will do that, but geez louise! The main thing that really irritated me about this story is the violation of the Writing Golden Rule: “show, don’t tell.” Poppy, throughout the story, tells the reader how much of an outsider she is, how much her boss doesn’t like her and how she has grown as a person. Readers should be shown how much she is an outsider, show how much her boss doesn’t like her, etc, etc. Is she ignored? Pranked? Overall, I did not enjoy There’s No Coming Back From This. I may not be Ms. Garvin’s target audience but if you are a fan of Ms Garvin, you may enjoy this book. 

There’s No Coming Back From This is available in paperback, eBook and audiobook