THE FIVE STAGES OF FALLING IN LOVE
by Rachel Higginson
Elizabeth Carlson is living in the pits of hell- also known as grief.
Her husband of eight years, the father of her four children and the love of her life, died from cancer. Grady's prognosis was grim, even from the start, but Liz never gave up hope he would survive. How could she, when he was everything to her?
Six months later, she is trying to pick up the pieces of her shattered life and get the kids to school on time. Both seem impossible. Everything seems impossible these days.
When Ben Tyler moves in next door, she is drowning in sorrow and pain, her children are acting out, and the house is falling apart. She has no time for curious new friends or unwanted help, but Ben gives her both. And he doesn't just want to help her with yard work or cleaning the gutters. Ben wants more from Liz. More than she's capable of ever giving again.
As Liz mourns her dead husband and works her way through the five stages of grief, she finds there's more of her heart to give than she thought possible. And as new love takes hold, she peels away the guilt and heartache, and discovers there's more to life than death. - Goodreads
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BOOK REVIEW:
Rating: 4 of 5 stars
If you're looking for a contemporary read that will make you cry, smile, swoon and fall in love then this book is IT. I didn't expect to love the book as much as I did which is crazy of me because hello, it's by Rachel Higginson so of course I'll end up loving it! I'm not usually a big fan of books that deal with grief and death. I avoid them like the plague because I easily get overwhelmed with my emotions and I end up bawling like a baby. But this book, I cannot not read it.
Liz Carlson is a mess. The love of her life has just died and now she's struggling to get on with her life and trying to maintain a normal semblance of life for their four young kids. I really liked Liz. She felt real. She's a mom of four and I admire her for being strong. I'm not a mom but I could just imagine how hard it must be to lose your husband and be left to take care of four kids when all you want to do is cry in a corner and let someone else take the reins. I love her determination and resilience. But mostly I love her love of Grady. Theirs is the kind of love that you don't doubt. It's passionate and burns with the kind of intensity that everyone would be lucky to feel.
I am freakin' amazed with this book. It's heartbreaking and evocative. I don't think I've ever read a book that made me equally sad and ecstatic. The Five Stages of Falling in Love would make you want to fall in love and make you remember what it felt like to fall in love the first time. It's beautiful!
"You were like fireworks. That's how I think of falling in love with you. One beautiful explosion after another."
'Sometimes love didn't make sense. And that was okay. It was far better to know love and accept love than try to understand it.'
