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A review by bookish_kristina
Everything Is Probably Fine by Julia London
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
An emotional journey of forgiveness and found family
This was such a sweet but sometimes sad story of Lorna, a 43 yr old woman whose life has been dominated by her sister’s addiction and her toxic family dynamics. Lorna is full of rage and takes a mandatory sabbatical from work to seek help.
The family elements of this book were so well done and quite triggering for anyone who had to live in a house with a sibling with addiction and behavioural problems. The excuse making by the parents and the need to grow up and fend for yourself as an ignored child were palpable. I felt for Lorna, and was frustrated with Lorna for much of the book.
But when she started to let herself feel and opened herself up to trusting new people it was so sweet. She is befriended by her eight year old neighbour Bean who wants to help her because he can get a scout bad for helping old people. He was such a ray of sunshine in this. Dealing with his own loss of his mother and neglect from his busy father, these two were an unlikely pair, but they took care of each other. It was very heartwarming.
The only issues I have with this book were some of the set ups were trite, like she had to go forgive a list of people to fulfill part of her mother’s will, this could have been done differently and not in such a cliched way. Perhaps her mother merely left her a list or a letter asking her to move on from some things in her past rather than tying it to an illegal codicil. It made it seem too hallmarky for my liking.
The second thing is sometimes when I read these women’s fictions about white women healing themselves its always in relation to gimmicky versions of south East Asian or East Asian spirituality done by white men with man buns. More authenticity would be nice here. I know lots of middle class white women do this and get all granola and new age and trust me, they drive me crazy in real life too, but it could have been done better with more research into the meaning of the therapies.
But the found family, the personal journey and the open ended ending were hopeful and engaging and overall I enjoyed this.
Thank you to NetGalley for the advanced copy, these are my honest thoughts.
This was such a sweet but sometimes sad story of Lorna, a 43 yr old woman whose life has been dominated by her sister’s addiction and her toxic family dynamics. Lorna is full of rage and takes a mandatory sabbatical from work to seek help.
The family elements of this book were so well done and quite triggering for anyone who had to live in a house with a sibling with addiction and behavioural problems. The excuse making by the parents and the need to grow up and fend for yourself as an ignored child were palpable. I felt for Lorna, and was frustrated with Lorna for much of the book.
But when she started to let herself feel and opened herself up to trusting new people it was so sweet. She is befriended by her eight year old neighbour Bean who wants to help her because he can get a scout bad for helping old people. He was such a ray of sunshine in this. Dealing with his own loss of his mother and neglect from his busy father, these two were an unlikely pair, but they took care of each other. It was very heartwarming.
The only issues I have with this book were some of the set ups were trite, like she had to go forgive a list of people to fulfill part of her mother’s will, this could have been done differently and not in such a cliched way. Perhaps her mother merely left her a list or a letter asking her to move on from some things in her past rather than tying it to an illegal codicil. It made it seem too hallmarky for my liking.
The second thing is sometimes when I read these women’s fictions about white women healing themselves its always in relation to gimmicky versions of south East Asian or East Asian spirituality done by white men with man buns. More authenticity would be nice here. I know lots of middle class white women do this and get all granola and new age and trust me, they drive me crazy in real life too, but it could have been done better with more research into the meaning of the therapies.
But the found family, the personal journey and the open ended ending were hopeful and engaging and overall I enjoyed this.
Thank you to NetGalley for the advanced copy, these are my honest thoughts.