I just got finished reading "All that was" and give it 3 stars. The book is about a lawyer tasked to archive a storage room at a church. The church is in a legal battle to have the historical stamp taken off because it's too expensive to maintain and is awaiting a verdict from the supreme court.
Emily, the lawyer, finds old records, a huge desk, old cookbooks, and a set of a woman's diaries dating from 1910 to sometime near the 1930s. These diaries belong to Elizabet, a widowed ghost who lives in said church with her friend Dorthea (who wears a gallon of perfume) and a ghost minister who spouts bits and crumbs of knowledge. Emily reads these diaries for archiving.
Both Emily and Elizabet travel down the road of grief looking for answers on how to deal with these feelings, finding comfort in each other's stories. Elizabet lost her husband and Emily her parents.
The secondary story is that of Emily and her boyfriend Ryan. The guy gives Emily an ulimatem to either deal with her grief of her dead parents or hit the road. Not a nice guy.
Overall the book is ok but 2/3 in the pages start repeating until it finally concludes.
Emily, the lawyer, finds old records, a huge desk, old cookbooks, and a set of a woman's diaries dating from 1910 to sometime near the 1930s. These diaries belong to Elizabet, a widowed ghost who lives in said church with her friend Dorthea (who wears a gallon of perfume) and a ghost minister who spouts bits and crumbs of knowledge. Emily reads these diaries for archiving.
Both Emily and Elizabet travel down the road of grief looking for answers on how to deal with these feelings, finding comfort in each other's stories. Elizabet lost her husband and Emily her parents.
The secondary story is that of Emily and her boyfriend Ryan. The guy gives Emily an ulimatem to either deal with her grief of her dead parents or hit the road. Not a nice guy.
Overall the book is ok but 2/3 in the pages start repeating until it finally concludes.