No happy endings A memoir

Review by Booklist Review

The world does break everyone that is a damn guarantee.... Families are snapped apart by death, money, drugs, divorce, the wrong thing said at the wrong time."" McInerny, author of It's Okay to Laugh (2016) and host of the podcast Terrible, Thanks for Asking, knows about being broken. Within months, she lost her unborn baby, her father, and her husband, Aaron. What makes this book so powerful is the way McInerny shares the painful act of rebuilding her life with such honesty and humor. She isn't afraid to admit how hard it is to find joy surrounded by so much sorrow. She knows that when people ask others how they're doing, they may answer fine, even though their lives are falling apart. And she knows how to laugh with tears falling. When McInerny meets Matthew, a divorced dad with two kids, she is both frightened and intrigued. Can they combine families while still honoring Aaron's memory and that of the mother of Matthew's children? Everyone faces tragedy. McInerny shows you how to do it with strength and grace.--Candace Smith Copyright 2019 Booklist

From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.

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Review by Library Journal Review

In this follow-up to It's Okay To Laugh, -McInerny, host of the podcast Terrible, Thanks for Asking and founder of the Hot Young Widows Club, describes her efforts not to deny the past but make room for it. The author begins by covering similar territory as in her podcast and first book; shortly after having a child, she experienced a miscarriage and lost both her husband and father to cancer. With humor and vulnerability, McInerny illustrates the emotional toll of pretending that everything was fine. What does it mean to be a widow at 31? Is falling in love again a betrayal? Chapters on the author's blended family are the strongest and include discussions of becoming a stepmom and not liking the term, as well as raising a family with her second husband while making sure her son from her first marriage remained connected to her late husband's family. Yet, brief essays about feedback on her podcast feel out of place, interrupting the flow of the narrative, and reflections on the cultural expectations of her Catholic upbringing could have been expanded. VERDICT Spanning memoir and parenting, this supplemental purchase is best for large memoir collections; it can be read alongside the author's first book or on its own.-Stephanie Sendaula, Library Journal © Copyright 2019. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

(c) Copyright Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

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Review by Kirkus Book Review

A memoir of finding a new way forward following significant misfortune.In The Hot Young Widow's Club (2019), her recent TED book, McInerny (It's Okay to Laugh: (Crying Is Cool Too), 2017, etc.) told the story of her life after she suffered three tragedies in one year: a miscarriage and the deaths of her father and her husband, Aaron. Her latest book is a continuation of sorts, chronicling her relationship with Aaron and her new relationship with Matthew, a divorced man with two children. With both witty humor and profundity, the author addresses the harsh reality of death and the life-changing effects of her grief, especially that critical first year when every day was an anniversary of some sort that needed to be lived through as best she could. Her story is also a celebration of life, sexual desire, and learning to love what is right in front of you, regardless of how others feel or react to the situation. The author, who hosts the podcast Terrible, Thanks for Asking, openly shares her fears about potentially losing Aaron's extended family as members of her own, the difficulties and triumphs of blending Matthew's family with hers, and the gratefulness she has felt about having two different relationships with two extraordinary men. Additionally, within this tragic love story are minor themes of feminism, sexism, and religion. McInerny's best friends and their unwavering support through all the ups and downs are also significant factors in this perceptive tale. The author's love for both Aaron and Matthew is consistently apparent but, refreshingly, never maudlin. McInerny delivers a highly emotionalbut not overly somberstory that will appeal to anyone who has suffered a significant loss and is seeking a path toward life's next chapter.Reflective and tender writing on finding new meanings and a different life after heartbreaking loss. Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.

Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.

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