Thanks so much to Get Red PR and St. Martin’s Press for providing my free copy – all opinions are my own.
Book Description:
Maddy is a devoted stay-at-home wife and mother, host of excellent parties, giver of thoughtful gifts, and bestower of a searingly perceptive piece of advice or two. She is the cornerstone of her family, a true matriarch…until she commits suicide, leaving her husband Brady and teenage daughter Eve heartbroken and reeling, wondering what happened. How could the exuberant, exacting woman they loved disappear so abruptly, seemingly without reason, from their lives? How they can possibly continue without her? As they sift through details of her last days, trying to understand the woman they thought they knew, Brady and Eve are forced to come to terms with unsettling truths. Maddy, however, isn’t ready to leave her family forever. Watching from beyond, she tries to find the perfect replacement for herself. Along comes Rory: pretty, caring, and spontaneous, with just the right bit of edge…but who also harbors a tragedy of her own. Will the mystery of Maddy ever come to rest? And can her family make peace with their history and begin to heal?
“You don’t always get to know what happened, or why things happened a certain way, but it always, always, goes deeper than any one thing.”
My Review:
This novel is not at all what I was expecting and I absolutely loved it! I didn’t even realize it was a debut until I finished. I just jumped right in and I’m sure glad I did! The story follows three characters, one of them being a ghost. Yes, a ghost, but it’s beautifully written and works perfectly with this story.
Maddy is forty-five and appears to have everything: a loving family, money, and a lot of friends. So why did she jump off a four story building? That is the question you are trying to answer as you desperately flip through the pages. After Maddy’s tragic suicide, she is stuck between life and death, watching her family from beyond. She’s left behind her husband, Brady and seventeen-year-old-daughter, Eve to deal with the grief and aftermath of losing her. Maddy finds herself interfering and trying to help her family move on. The story is told from the perspectives of all three and they are all wonderful characters to read.
This novel allows us a very unique perspective into the lives of a family dealing with suicide because we get to see it from every viewpoint. Maddy is a smart and witty character and I love Eve. All of the characters are relatable and REAL. The writing style is brilliant and seems so effortless, which is why I think Fabiaschi is a true talent. This is an emotional read with some laugh-out-loud moments and extremely well developed characters. I LIKED MY LIFE is such an unexpected surprise with a fantastic ending and an epilogue that was perfect. I highly recommend to anyone looking for an interesting look at grief with unanswered questions.
My rating is 4 out of 5 stars!
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