The thing with Matt Haig is that he knows how to weave a story that gets to the heart of the matter and knows how to remind us what actually matters. In this story of Wilbur getting to visit the major moments of his life after he passes away, he (and we) gets to see where he made the wrong choices that lead to outcome of a life he wasn’t happy with in the end. A reminder that we can say what we value but unless we actively choose what we value and make those choices intentional, what we say doesn’t matter. And next thing we know, we’ve lost the thing we value the most and end up with a life we didn’t actually want.
Alas.
For those of us who are still living, it’s not too late to change the choices we make.
with gratitude to Viking and netgalley for an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review
Ok month two, here we go. This is a weird month for me cause I already have some existing commitments and then will be taking a trip in the middle of the month and also have my kiddo coming to visit. So not super consistent schedule the whole month. I will still do the best I can to take some steps onward.
Big Goal: Taxes is going to be the big one here. I have to start working on taxes. If i am lucky, I can finish too but rarely do I get so lucky. I still need to work hard to make a meaningful dent here otherwise March will be really challenging.
Progress on the big five:
Y: For this one, my hope is that the HOA work is submitted and, if I am really lucky, approved. If I am really really lucky, work can begin in February, too.
G: Ok the Feburary goal here is to pack the other 8+ boxes, hire someone to finish the packing so I can rent the space and someone to deliver in March.
S: The goal here is hair plan and medicine plan.
Sa: For this one, I really really would like to come up with a plan I like that I can do.
D: Not sure what new to take on here for Feb. Not ready to rent yet so maybe just do pickup at SFO?
Three Medium goals: (have 4 this month)
art: 5-8 food paintings
cook: 5 dishes that are vegetable heavy that I can redo often
peloton: do ten classes a week
insta: no insta after 7pm (too much anxiety before bed)
Start: taking long walks with Sadie (ideally 20+ mins)
Stop: no liquid after 8pm except water / herbal
Continue: keeping some sort of good skin regimen. It’s something I can do even when on the road.
Brave: Not sure about this one yet. Going on this trip will be brave. Can we have that be it for Feb?
Here’s to another month. Paying attention. Loving my people. Savoring and living in awe. And taking steps to move onward.
So here we are. The longest month of the year is over. What a terrifying and anxiety-inducing month in the world. It’s been a lot and I am finding myself struggling with understanding how to live in this type of world and the dissonance of the horrifying big and the insignificant-seeming daily life.
For my personal plans, January was a good month, I worked hard to do as much as I could. I had some significant progress and other areas that didn’t move much.
One Big Goal: I did okay on the food this month. Not as well as I would have liked, but not nothing. I found a few vegetable-heavy meals I loved and plan to cook again. I expect this will be an ongoing journey, but at least dipped my toe in.
Progress on the big five:
Y: Lots of progress here, picked one, waiting for them to prep for hoa.
G: progress here too, packed a little and have a plan.
S: progress here with multiple appointments in February.
Sa: so totally did nothing on this one.
D: did TWO trips to the airport!
Three Medium goals:
Started basic skin regimen, not super regular but working on it.
Sort of made an art plan but also signed up for a class.
Did no dance class
Start: Started Stanford class and the Preamble
Stop: Stopped eating in Bed, but not back down to one snapple
Continue: did a little more on the list for trust but not enough
Brave: Sent the email!
I am super proud of all that I did. Good job moving onward, Karen.
Damoff is a truly truly excellent writer. Her characters are the true definition of three-dimensional. They are all flawed and working so hard to become better versions of themselves and jump off the page so well that you find yourself rooting for each of them and missing them so so much when the story is over.
This story is filled with so much trauma and grief. How broken we each are regardless of our upbringing (and sometimes because of our upbringing) and how we internalize so much grief and self-blame/shame even when the things that happen to us aren’t because of us and how much harder that makes it for us to then be in healthy relationships of our own. How do we save ourselves and our families and how to we form healthy marriages and families when we have so much of our own work to do?
I enjoyed every single second I spent with this book. I felt sad, laughed out loud, full of love and full of frustration but most of all I just cheered them on and on hoping for them to get the healing and happy ending they deserved. What a gift when a book can make you cheer for the main characters so much.
with gratitude to netgalley and Simon & Schuster for an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review
not sure why i waited so long to read this book. Maybe because I didn’t love Miller’s previous one. But this one was fun and quick even if it was maybe a little too on the nose 🙂
I’ve always been a fan of Hepworth’s novels but this one stands out amongst the others.
There’s no way to finish this book and not to fall completely in love with Mabel and not to find yourself cheering for her, wanting to hug her and apologize to her on behalf of the world and truly cruel people that ruin it.
It’s hard to say that I loved reading this book because so much of it is so sad. So much of it was spent with me trying to jump into the pages of the book and protect Mabel. And also it’s such a sweet, dear, at times funny, and mostly devastating book.
The audio is truly fantastic and brings both of the mabels to life so well. A true gem from Hepsworth.
with gratitude to netgalley and Macmillan Audio for an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review
Even though the book in book format was interesting, I really hated the book inside the book and wanted those chapters to end as quickly as possible. And I really loved Samantha’s chapters so for a long time, her chapters are what sustained me.
But then towards the end it all started coming together and loved all of it and found myself admiring how the author brought it into a full circle. I am confident most people will enjoy this one. And the narration was absolutely perfect.
with gratitude to netgalley and Macmillan Audio for an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review
With any Jane Harper book you’re guaranteed to read a story seeped in atmosphere and deep in character development. That’s where this author shines and where her novels stand out. In Last One Out, Carralon Ridge, the town, is so atmospheric that it’s a character of its own. The town people’s relationship with the town is a major part of the story.
And so are each of the characters, their history, their connection, their sense of loyalty and betrayal.
On its face this story is not as twisty and interesting as many of Harper’s other novels. But it still has all of her characteristic style so if you go in with the right expectation you will enjoy this story a lot.
And the audio is absolutely excellent, transporting the reader to Australia adding just the right texture to the story.
with gratitude to netgalley and Macmillan Audio for an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review
