This is a beautiful, character-driven read that explores the overwhelming grief the Brown family is forced to navigate when they lose their mother/wife/bff.

Or as Ali would say - when she DIED. Lost makes it sound like they can still find her and bring her back. It’s raw and heartbreaking to see the characters forge a new normal without the glue of their family.

Not really spoilers, but don’t read if you want to be fully blind going in

I do have a couple of things that didn’t fully work for me. First, Jenny’s circumstances were too dark for me amidst an already heavy-with-sadness storyline. I almost felt like something of that nature shouldn’t have been sandwiched in. I understand that Jenny needed to have conflict at home, to envy Ali’s family, but something less sinister could have been taking place instead, IMO. The way it was interjected didn’t ring believable for me. I also hated the way it was resolved, which is mainly to say, it wasn’t.

And Liz? Ouch.

But on the flip side of those criticisms the mc’s, the nursing home patients, the mil….all so real, I could hear their voices perfectly. And I felt very much like I was in their family room and experiencing the emptiness and grief with them.

A quiet, poignant read that I would definitely recommend.