The Wedding People by Alison Espach opens with a beautiful day in Newport, Rhode Island as Phoebe Stone arrives at the Cornwall Inn with no luggage and a lobby bustling with activity. It seems she is the only guest at the inn who is not there for a wedding. The Cornwall Inn has been a dream vacation destination for Phoebe and she is taking this chance to do all she wanted to do. When Phoebe runs into Lila, the bride, in the elevator, she reveals her plans for the weekend. Shocked and horrified, Lila begs Phoebe not to ruin her wedding week. Phoebe promises her planned activities will be quiet and will not interfere with Lila’s wedding. What Phoebe doesn’t count on is her connection with Lila and the two women confide in each other. Will Phoebe go ahead with her plan? Will Lila’s wedding go off without a hitch?
Described as “propulsive,” “uncommonly wise,” “absurdly funny,” “devastatingly tender,” and with numerous positive reviews on BookTok reviews, I decided to give The Wedding People a chance. The opening chapter was great as Phoebe arrives and she watches and overheard conversations. However, the story quickly falters as she meets Lila and confesses to a complete stranger to plans to end her life that weekend. I understand using humor as a defense mechanism; however, the humor in this story didn’t land very well. I didn’t smile or laugh at all. Even the sarcasm I didn’t enjoy. I did not enjoy this story. I also didn’t like how the author treated the subjects of depression and suicide. I did not like Phoebe. There was no growth or redemption for her. She cries over the actions of her ex-husband and yet decides to behave the same way. I do not recommend The Wedding People.
The Wedding People is available in hardcover, paperback, eBook and audiobook
Adulting by Liz Talley is a story about starting over and how it is never too late to get your life back on track. Self-destructive actress Chase London had one too many all-night benders, too many failed rehabs and a parole violation. Written off as a has-been, she is given one last chance...if Chase is willing. Olivia Han is a life coach who is devoted to Square One, her “adulting” boot camp therapy program. She decides to take Chase far away from the prying eyes of Hollywood and focus on her treatment. Together they travel to Olivia’s Northern California cabin where they discover it needs as much TLC as Chase does. As they work together to rehab the cabin, Chase discovers a safe place to come to her terms with her troubled past and face the demons she has been running from. At the same time, Olivia finds herself coming to terms with her own demons as she helps Chase learn the life skills she never had.
Adulting is a story about life. The ups and downs. The great times and the darkest secrets that shape us. The book does come with a disclaimer that the story deals with substance abuse, depression, suicide, sexual abuse and rape. However, I don’t want the disclaimer to dissuade any readers from this story because it is a great story. Ms. Talley wonderfully deals with these subjects with seriousness and tenderness. Adulting is a story of second chances in life, love, and friendship. There are great moments of emotional revelation. Romantic moments that will make you sigh and smile with the occasional “Oh my!” There are even a few laugh out loud moments such as the stupid mistakes we make as we learn to do our own laundry and wash the dishes. There are many wonderful characters that help Chase and Olivia find the healing they truly needed. I wanted to reach through the book and give these women a big hug. This book exceeded my expectations. I highly recommend Adulting!
Adulting is available in paperback, eBook and audiobook.
Breaking the Silence by Diane Chamberlain is a story of secrets and the links that connect us. Laura Brandon made a promise to her dying father. With his last breath, he desperately made her promise to visit an elderly woman, a woman she had never met before. In fact, she hadn’t even heard of her before. Sarah Tolley is a woman who suffers from Alzheimer’s and only the distant past remains as vivid as ever. Laura sees visiting Sarah as a small sacrifice to honor her beloved father. But her husband, Ray, doesn’t want her to go, claiming Sarah wouldn’t know if she came at all and certainty her father wouldn’t either but Laura insists. Keeping her promise results in another death. Ray commits suicide while she is gone visiting Sarah and their five-year old daughter, Emma, is home to witness it. Now Emma refuses to talk about it, actually she refuses to talk at all. Desperate and filled with guilt, Laura contacts the only person who may help. A man she has only met once. A man who doesn’t know he is Emma’s birth father. Will she be able to break Emma’s silence and discover the link between her father and Sarah?
Ms. Chamberlain weaves stories of intrigue and inspiration. Breaking the Silence is no exception. It is a page turner, dealing with heavy topics such as suicide, Alzheimer’s, trauma and psychiatric treatments of the 1950s, this book does not hold back. From the opening pages, you are hooked to discover the link between Laura’s father and Sarah and why she hadn’t heard of this woman before. The reason behind Emma’s silence seems pretty straightforward and even takes a backseat to Laura’s mission to find out who Sarah is to her father. Having read a few of Ms. Chamberlain’s books before, she heavily researches for her stories so when someone says something out of place or wrong, keep it in mind it may be the character's ignorance rather than the author’s mistake. I have read many reviews that point out mistakes but I feel they fail to realize that 1) the book takes place in the year 2000, when many people still didn’t know a lot about Alzheimer’s, 2) that errors in the character’s statements are necessarily an author’s mistakes but a flaw in the characters’ understanding or 3) the error is a plot point or misdirection. Overall, I enjoyed Breaking the Silence and would highly recommend it.
Breaking the Silence is available in paperback, eBook, and audiobook.
A Million Little Things is an American drama series
which premiered on September 26, 2018 and currently finished its second season
on Thursday nights on ABC. It has not been officially renewed for a third
season, although it’s creator, DJ Nash, has hinted that an official renewal is
coming. The show’s premise is “It has been said that friendship isn’t one big
thing, it’s a million little things.” It has an ensemble cast: David Giuntoli
(Eddie Saville), Grace Park (Katherine, Eddie’s wife), Romany Malco (Rome
Howard), Christina Moses (Regina, Rome’s wife), Allison Miller (Maggie Bloom),
James Roday (Gary Mendez) and Stephanie Szostak (Delilah Dixon). The show deals
with suicide, depression, cancer, the grief process and the struggle to move on
in a new light.
The show starts as just another day with this tight knit
friends/family. Gary is at his doctor’s office, waiting on important test
results. Rome is at home writing a suicide note before preparing to take a
handful of pills. Eddie and Delilah are together on their weekly rendezvous.
All seems normal until they all get the call. Jon Dixon (played by Ron
Livingston), Delilah’s husband has just jumped off his office balcony to his
death. His suicide is so out of the blue that the group of friends are left
wondering what they didn’t see and so many questions that can never be
answered. The four men, who became friends after getting stuck together in an
elevator, bonded together by their love for the Boston Bruins and Jon, their de
facto leader, their champion and cheerleader. Without him, the group struggles
to find their center again. As they grieve and cope with the aftermath, secrets
and drama are revealed as life goes on.
I started to watch the show because James Roday was in it. I
love him in the USA show Psych (2006-2014) and I was curious to see him
take on a dramatic role. From the beginning I enjoyed the show’s ability to
tackle hard topics with honesty and heart. First, I appreciate the honest and
openness about cancer especially male breast cancer. While rare, male breast
cancer occurs in an estimated one in a thousand men will be diagnosed. I also
appreciate the writers’ ability to show the truth about depression in men. Men
are taught to be tough, to hide their emotions, and not to talk about their
feelings. Depression occurs in about 9% of men while only 1 in 4 will seek
profession help (American Psychological Association, 2015). I also liked the
realistic portrayal of the grief process. The initial shock, the sadness and
anger, especially the anger. The show is raw, it is real, and it is sometimes
hard to watch.
There are a few things I don’t care for. At first, I didn’t
care for Katherine, the high-powered attorney, and felt bad for Eddie, the hen-pecked
stay at home dad. However, as season 2 opened, I started to like her
take-no-prisoners approach and I saw how hurt and devasted she was by the
situations. Actress Grace Park plays Katherine beautifully and I have enjoyed
seeing her character evolve since episode 1. Second, I really don’t care for
Katherine’s and Eddie’s son, Theo. I’m not sure if it how he is written or the
young actor’s acting, but Theo comes off as annoying and sometimes a tad
unbelievable as an 8-year-old. In season 2, Delilah gave birth to a daughter,
Charlie, and every time the child is on screen, the baby is wearing a beanie. I
understand that the show takes place in Boston so its cold, but a child doesn’t
need her head covered all the time especially when inside.
In conclusion, I recommend A Million Little Things as
a dramatic show which takes an honest look at grief, depression, cancer and the
human ability or inability to deal with it all. It takes an honest look at
suicide, its aftermath and its prevention. For fans of Psych, if you
haven’t already, I recommend checking out the show to see James Roday in a
dramatic role. He is just as talented in this role as he was in a comedic role.
Every actor in this show fits his or her role perfectly and as you watch, you
will grow to love the characters as you watch them in grief, struggle with
unanswerable questions and find a way to move forward. If A Million Little
Things open the conversation which saves lives from suicide, then it’s
worth watching.
