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Thursday, April 4, 2024

How to Walk Away by Katherine Center

 


Plot summary:  Margaret Jacobsen's life feels perfect. She has her MBA and the promise of a dream job. And her handsome boyfriend just proposed. Everything is falling into place. But then, on Valentine's Day, the unexpected happens and Margaret's life is changed forever, her future that seemed so bright suddenly gone. And everyone keeps telling her to be positive and smile...except for her physical therapist who barely talks to her; instead, he pushes her to try harder everyday. And her fiance? When he's not drunk he tells her he still loves her, but he never comes to visit her. Instead, it's her sister that shows up, the sister she's been estranged from for the past three years. Margaret's journey is one of pain and grief....and hope. And she learns some important truths along the way:
  • Needing to find reasons to live had forced me to build a life worth living.
  • The greater our capacity for sorrow becomes, the greater our capacity for joy.
  • You have to live the life you have.
  • When you don't know what to do for yourself, do something for somebody else.
  • There are all kinds of happy endings. 

My thoughts:  This is one of those books that once I started reading it I couldn't put it down! Margaret's such a relatable character. Everything about her accident and recovery felt so real; I understood her moments of depression, cheered her resilience and moments of anger, and cried with her, too. And I loved her happy ending. Her sister, Kit, made me laugh; and I really liked Ian, her physical therapist. This book is so much more than a simple romance. It's amazing. And I loved it!

Happy Reading!


Other favorite Katherine Center books:


26 comments:

  1. Lark, I remember reading this one a few years ago. Actually, I think it was the first book by this author that I read. I agree that it is a good one and has lots of poignant moments. Thanks for sharing about it!

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    1. It does have a lot of poignant moments in it. Center does things like that very well imo. :D

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  2. I love when an author can create a character that feels so real and relatable. Margaret sounds like a character that is easy to pull for. Your enthusiasm for this one really shows. So glad you loved it!

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    1. I really did. I've loved several of Center's books and am really looking forward to reading her newest one this year. :D

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  3. Lark, I love your post about this book - you make me want to pick it up ASAP. Thank you for sharing about it :)

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    1. I think you would really like this one, Nadia! :D

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  4. This is the Katherine Center book I have on my shelf to start so I'm so glad to see how much you enjoyed this one! I haven't read anything by her yet but I'm hoping to pick this one up soon.

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    1. This is a good one. I also really loved The Bodyguard! :D

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  5. I hadn't seen this book before, but I'm adding it to my wishlist. Margaret sounds like the kind of character I love to read about. :)

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    1. Her journey was both poignant and heartwarming. She's an easy character to root for. :D

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  6. I love "there all kinds of happy endings"--we aren't guaranteed the one we expect. Doesn't mean we can't adapt and humans are very resilient. Truthfully, don't we all want the reassurance that if things don't turn out the way we hope, altering course can be good, too.

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    1. That's one of the great things about life...that happiness can come in many ways...and sometimes the unexpected ends up being better than what we originally planned.

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  7. I have a physical copy of this book but haven't had a chance to read it yet. It sounds wonderful! You just made me push it up higher on my TBR! I've loved all of Katherine Center's stories! I'll see if they have an audio. :)

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    1. I've really come to love Center's stories, too. Especially her most recent ones. :D

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  8. That sounds good. I'm glad you liked it.

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    1. She writes some really good books. If you've never read her, I think you'd really like The Bodyguard. It's my favorite. :D

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  9. Hi Lark, great review and this is a book I want to read. Reminds me of "Life And Other Near Death Experiences" by Camille Pagan. I read it a few years ago and tried reading Camille's other books but they didn't do it for me but Life And Other Near Death Experiences I found so meaningful and it sounds like How To Walk Away is the same kind of book.

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    1. That Camille Pagan book does sound really good, and one that I would really like. I'm adding it to my list! :D Thanks for the recommendation. And I think you'd like How to Walk Away.

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  10. Margaret sounds like a wonderful character. I bet I would like her too. I will definitely have to give this book a try.

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    1. It's a great book. And Margaret is very relatable and an easy character to like and root for.

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  11. I'm so glad you enjoyed it! This was my first Katherine Center book... and I've since read every book of hers I could get my hands on!

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    1. I totally understand that! I love the way she tells a story. I think The Bodyguard is my favorite.

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    1. Katherine Center writes really good stories.

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  13. This and THINGS YOU SAVE IN A FIRE are my favorite Center books as well. Her novels are engaging and definitely hard to put down.

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    1. I loved Things You Save in a Fire, too! She definitely writes some good books...though some of her earlier stuff isn't that good.

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