Hello Beautiful (Oprah's Book Club)

Love, loss, family, friendship, forgiveness……it’s all there Wrapped up beautifully in this book.

Remarkable

ko i m oh

If I had had a better idea of how this sad book would unfold I never would have started it. As a person who has struggled for decades with suicidal depression, I didn’t need to read about these women’s circumscribed lives, capacity for self-deception, and willingness to inflict harm on their daughters, not to mention husbands and lover. Suffocating.

The book allowed the reader to live in each character’s emotions while dealing with life. In reading this story my emotions were raw and real for each character’s challenges. The character with mental health issues was written with clarity, sensitivity and compassion. Thank you.

This book will rip your heart out before slowly putting it back together and developing into a heartwarming story. A well told story that highlights many issues including childhood neglect/ abandonment, trauma, and depression and the dangers of not getting help for them. This book highlights the ups and downs of William’s life and how his childhood experiences shaped his adulthood. William felt he was never recognized as a child until boys on the basketball court invited him to play. His parents didn’t pay much attention to him, due to his parents grieving about his sister’s death. Therefore, William knew he had to create the life he wanted on his own. Thanks to advice he was given early on about basketball, he was able to be successful in high school, where he was awarded a scholarship to play for Northwestern University. William found support in his college girlfriend Julia, who supported him along with her family throughout college. William and Julia ended up getting married. William’s life is consumed with basketball, teaching, grad-school, his wife and a new baby, but will this be enough? Is this the life that makes him happy? This book will have you turning the pages to find out. I loved how even though the book was focused on William, the author chose to have each chapter from a different perspective, including William. Each chapter that was not from the perspective of William was from a person who was important to William, such as his wife, daughter, sister-in-law, on their perspectives and how he affected their lives. This author does a good job of capturing the struggles and grief of the characters! This book is not for the light-hearted as it dives into heavy-hitting topics. Even though this book will leave you feeling satisfied in the end, it’s one of those stories that leaves a lasting impression! Perfect for those who are fans of Elizabeth Strout and Elizabeth Berg as this book reminds me a lot of books written by them. A great book club pick as well as this will lead to many interesting discussions.