When the Tears Start Flowing....

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I told myself I was not going to cry....and then I did.

A beautiful start. I thought right away that I knew where this story was headed. In just the first paragraph I said, "Ah, yes....that perfect chick-lit tale". Yet when I was counting on the predictability of this book, it started doing "cartwheels"...spinning out of control.

Cartwheeling...that's a term used for something a small plane does when it's losing control. The beautiful simple story loses control...in the most intriguing, nail biting, exhausting way. I was gripped. I was in it for the long haul...and that meant through out the night..until the morning starting showing it's face. How could I dare put on pause something that was flowing so smoothly and also chaotically all at once.

How To Walk Away by Katherine Center was more than just beauty...it was reality in the sense that it had it's plausibility. It was heartfelt and also thought provoking in the most serious of ways. It forces you to stop and think what one would do if in a difficult and tragic situation when all the world relies on being politically correct. I did feel like the more serious things were brushed over but I had to keep in mind that we are reading this story as the voice of the main character, Margaret..and she is a little matter-of-fact..a little witty, a little normal in the face of something not so normal. That's her personality and I loved it. The relationship between Kitty(Margaret's sister) and Margaret is suppose to be distant but it's not. There is a reason for that. Kitty abandoned the family three years ago or so Margaret thought and now Kitty is back in such a crucial time. Their relationship...shows the true relationship of two sisters, two women that love each other. Matter-of-fact...refreshing... comforting...snarky. I am madly in love with Kit...Kitty. She is amazing. But where I had love for her, I had anger for other characters...hot tempered anger and annoyance. Still...that was wonderful as well. I feel that is such a key factor in what makes a wonderful book..not just when it has the power to please us but also the power to unnerve us. I despised some characters and then grew to love them...or at least sympathize with them. Even here typing this I have to remember: This is a story...not real life.

It's just so good. Love, loss, recovery, relationships, the past, trauma, healing, dark secrets, closure, moving forward. I want to say this is a book that most women pine for from an author but I'd be selling this book short. This book can be enjoyed by all walks of life. No pun intended.