Review by Deb Czajkowski
Now you see him; now you don’t.
Ben was supposed to be gone only for the
weekend. He went to their beach house in
Ocean City, Maryland, to take care of routine maintenance. Willa had seen him
just before he left. And then, suddenly, Ben was gone. Now you see him; now you
don’t.
Three years after Ben’s unexpected
death at the beach house, Willa is still struggling in a big way. She has vaguely gone through the motions of
parenting their son, Jamie, these past three years, but her emotional distance is
taking its toll on him ─ as well as on Willa herself. Finally acknowledging this, Willa decides it’s
time to move on with her life and to try to reconnect with her son before it’s
too late. With this realization, Willa
starts the process by facing the beach house, the old haunts, and the ghosts of
summers past.
At first the years’ of memories ─Ben
and Willa met here at this beach house when they were both still teens─
overwhelm Willa, and she pictures Ben everywhere she goes. But then she
actually ─literally─ sees Ben. Well, his ghost. She would see him, then he’d
be gone.
Now you see him; now you don’t. Is
Willa going insane? She doesn’t think
so, but can an insane person be a reliable source? Willa enlists the help of
Jamie, her best friend, Kristin, and Kristin’s daughter, Kelsey for the summer
─for more reasons than one! It is Willa’s hope that working together to fix up
the beach house will bring far more benefits than just the house, for each of
them.
Every
Time You go Away is bottom line a story of loss, of grief that is
heart-wrenching and far-reaching. Author
Beth Harbison’s main character, Willa, has quite unexpectedly, at age
thirty-five, lost her husband and best friend. It happens. And how a person traverses the days that
follow are personal to everyone who has been in Willa’s shoes. Some may even
assert to have seen their loved one’s ghost, or felt a “presence.” Grief is a
path unto itself.
Every
Time You go Away is also a
story ─Willa’s story─ about finding a way through
the grief, finding a way to heal from the pain and loss, finding a way to fully
rejoin the world of the living again. For the people in her world ─ family,
close friends─ that new normal is an adjustment as well.
We all know someone who’s grieving a
personal loss ─maybe it’s even you! If
so, you have my sympathies. Read Every
Time You go Away. Yes, it begins with grief and loss, but it’s also Willa’s
journey to hope, to living again. And hope ─and living life─ are both worth it
every day of the week!
Purchase the book at:
About
the author:
BETH HARBISON is The New
York Times bestselling author of One Less Problem Without You, If I Could Turn Back Time, Driving with the Top Down, Chose the Wrong Guy, Gave Him the Wrong Finger; When In
Doubt, Add Butter; Always Something There To Remind Me; Thin, Rich, Pretty;
Hope In A Jar; Secrets of a Shoe Addict; andShoe Addicts Anonymous. She grew up in Potomac, Maryland, outside Washington, DC,
and now shares her time between that suburb, New York City, and a quiet home on
the eastern shore.
Connect
with the author at:
St. Martin’s Press is giving 1
Lucky winner a print copy of
Every
Time You Go Away by Beth Harbison
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