Valerie S. (VolunteerVal) - reviewed on 10/5/2021 + 646 more book reviews

This novel is truly beautiful in its relatability; its characters could be your friends, neighbors, or family members.

Some of the many reasons I love this novel (and I don't even like coffee or country music)
- short chapters
- small town Montana setting
- good, honest characters who love each other and struggle to express it
- "hot coffee" used as an expletive
- country music song titles expressing emotions
- author's treasured memory with her grandmother incorporated into the story
- First line: "Secrets are like pennies. Everybody's got one, even the poorest among us."
- a cat named Steve

This contemporary story features grief ... and also hope. It explores the aftereffects when a beloved wife and mother dies in midlife due to cancer. It also delves into the grief when dementia impacts a loving grandmother and mother. But it also includes the many emotions of an unplanned pregnancy and the optimism of new pursuits and restored relationships.

Thank you to the author and Bethany House Publishers for the review copy of this outstanding novel about a perfectly imperfect family and community.

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