Intimate and touching story
935058
Only Jim Hutton ever experienced the part of Freddy Mercury that this story tells.  By the end of the book you feel like you were there too.  At first it seemed liked there was a lot of minute detail in the story, but eventually that is what makes the picture of Freddy's personality come together.
Thank you Jim!
3007516
My Life At First Try is an intimate read, successful in grounding the reader in Alex's world as he comes of age, and then comes into middle age, and, finally, arrives at late middle age.  The story moves at a clip due to the short chapters (it is a novel-in-flashes, meaning most of the chapters are under 1000 words), and yet one gets the feeling that each word, phrase, sentence is falling carefully from the narrator's tongue.  There is no fluff in this book, just heartfelt experience rendered in a beautiful, economic prose.  What I especially loved were the truths inherent in the narrator's responses to life, whether he's facing communist bureacracy, American work ethics, family politics or the travails of his own heart.  I would recommend this book to anyone.
3964255
I loved the thoughtful and gentle handling of the characters.  The frailties of each person were not judged; just presented with kindness and understanding. This story touches my heart and is personal.
4101353
I was so touched by Danny Gregory's story, writing and engaging illustrations - it all was utterly beautiful and raw.  He and Patti had a full life together despite the heart wrenching events they both endured. His memoir moved me and brought me to tears many times; sometimes I cried and laughed at the same time.

After I read the last page I had to go hug my husband. My bottom lip was trembling and tears were in my eyes; all I could do was look at him and gasp a few times because right then I couldn't find the words to tell him what "A Kiss Before You Go" meant to me. Love is precious and oftentimes the everyday stuff of life gets in the way of remembering who and what is important. Danny has shared this part of his life in such an eloquent way, and this is a special book that I will never forget.
2712217
A touching story. Makes you think about what attachments you have in life, and why.
1264881
As the mother of a child on the autism spectrum, I applaud Sally Pla, not just for writing such a heartfelt, touching story, but for her honest, respectful depiction of Charlie. Charlie has OCD/ASD (Autism Spectrum Disorder). His routine is suddenly uprooted when his siblings and their mysterious babysitter Ludmila go on a cross-country trip to be with Charlies father in a hospital in Virginia. Charlies world assaults him on their cross country road trip. New smells, foods, people, and experiences are thrust upon him. Along the way, Charlie adopts a three-legged dog that he names after his bird guru hero, Tiberius Shaw; the dog smells, but thats okay. In fact, a lot of things that would have upset Charlie before are suddenly becoming a little easier to bear. Sallys honest writing makes Charlies inner thoughts, anxieties, and compassion ring true throughout this charming page-turner.
27310
Some stories are so filled with emotion, they're hard to tell.  In this one, a father describes the passing of his beloved son at age 7.  While it was some time ago, he writes as though it were yesterday with the clarity of a keen observer chronicling the events and stages of his family's experience.  The mother's words to her son are here as well...deep and dear and dire.  Throughout the book, Mike Lynes employs a creative literary style that at first surprises, then impresses.  If I stepped away from this book for any period, I found I missed this family and was eager to return to their story.  A story well told, of a life well lived.
934086
This story is engaging and skilfully told. Rachel and Lacey, despite a significant age difference, are drawn together by circumstance and life events. They form an unlikely but believable friendship. Both have a past littered with loss and each shoulders a burden in the present. The narrative POV switches easily from one to the other; snapshots of life events allow the story to unfold, keeping the pace lively and weaving past and present seamlessly.

The writing is powerful, often poignant and heartfelt, with the vulnerability of each laid bare. As a reader, I was keen to know what made these individuals the people they are. Parts if the story are really emotional; in turn heartbreak and pleasure, sadness and regret, happiness and laughter.

There's a strong sense of location, the descriptive passages are evocative with a real feel for country living in a tight knit and introspective community. I found I cared about both characters. There are a couple of final twists which carry the story through to a very satisfactory conclusion. It's a book that haunts you after you finish reading; it calls you back to think about some of the issues raised. What more could a reader ask for? A little gem and I loved it. Thank you.

Copy of my amazon UK review.
4115241
This was a fascinating and moving book. There are three separate stories that gradually come together.

At first there is an unidentified woman in a coma who remains unidentified for months and the efforts of her doctor, Charlotte, to keep her alive after others at the hospital who were advocating taking her off life support. Keeping her alive and trying to identify her became an obsession for Charlotte. Then there was the story of Raney and Bo who became childhood friends under difficult circumstances. Their relationship is quite touching. Charlotte has a boyfriend/lover who is a writer who also has a background of a difficult childhood; their sometimes emotionally distant relationship and the reasons for the ambiguity also are gradually revealed.

The intriguing and emotionally touching descriptions and plots of their lives really pull the reader into the story. In the end we learn of a surprising physical/medical condition that is essential to solving the mystery of the identification of the comatose woman.

I don't want to reveal more, but if you both like mysteries and reading about the complicated lives of people as they grow up, you will surely like this book.
4641723
This story is one that touches the soul deeply. It is heartfelt and human, and sometimes impossibly painful. But worth the read.
4477957
It is hard for most cops to visualize retirement after being on the job. Many stay on til they die, and many die of heart attacks shortly after. Not much is known of those rendered disabled after a line of duty injury. This story is a sensitive and intimate tale of an officer struggling to get his life back while taking care of his ailing father, who has had gastric surgery, macular degeneration, and early stages of dementia. Both men are lured from their depression by their tenant, a beautiful, kind woman in urgent need of a knight in shining armour. The bonds between the three, and between them and a neighbor and his dog are formed as the struggling ex detective fights to use the skills he had before to save his tenant. This is a tale of loss and triumph you won't be able to put down until it is completely told.
2132152
It's hard to imagine what it would be like to be separated at such an early age from those people who have loved you and cared for you.  In JoAnne Taylor's touching memoir we take the journey with her from her days in the orphanage with her older sister, to her life in her adoptive home where she was afraid to show any negative emotions or misbehave, to her life as an adult searching for that sister she left behind, and then discovering, writing to, and meeting at last her sister.  This story is compelling for anyone, adopted or not. I loved it!
4850315
The book focuses on the growing pains of a gifted daughter of Indian immigrants in England. Although the story was told simply and was very easy to read, it is poignant and very touching. A child of immigrants myself, I identified with the story very easily, but you don't need to have grown up in an immigrant family to identify with the universal loneliness that children experience sometimes.

The story is heart-wrenching and is definitely worth a read. It is a good warning for parents who have excessive demands to let children enjoy their childhood while it lasts.
2086738
Touching story, shows how alcoholism can affect our loved ones
3594024
As someone who has recently lost a father, this was a touching story filled with astute observations. Sometimes you don't really know your parents until it's too late, and trying to sort the pieces together once they are gone can lead to all sorts of surprises.  This book is easy to relate to, with the protagonist's internal conflicts explored in a beautifully vivid way of writing.  Despite being a work of fiction, I found it to be surprisingly realistic description of the sort of unpredictable family secrets that can turn a surviving child's life upside down, attempting to settle their parents unresolved business, despite the burning question of, why did you never feel you could reach out to us while we had the chance?  Were you hiding from us or because of us? And, why was I so cowardly as to let time slip away? Enjoyed this book immensely. Chock full of revealing observations, kindness, humor, and useful wisdom for anyone having a difficult time reconciling a parent's passing. Although a fun story written in a witty, easy to read style, it took me several days to finish, as I often found myself pausing, to re-read and reflect on particularly salient points which hit home with unexpected clarity.
3985403
Such a beautiful, moving story, and well-written to boot. Having lost many family members myself to illness and violence, and wanting to feel their presence when they were gone, I was touched by this story. It brought me to tears with the struggles those who have already passed on have in letting their family pass into the light. SPOILER: At first I couldn't understand why a main character was written out of the story halfway through, but the author resolved the matter.

You're not only in for tears, but laughter as you watch the Deadlines interact with each other. I highly recommend this story.
2804111
This book encompasses the story of two people who met briefly and personal letters are sent to each other and the relationship that unfolds over time is simply beautiful. This is a true story. The authors grandmother has such a deeply moving story, and for her to share the story with the world was a fantastic decision. The history, the depth of research that went into the writing of her grandmothers relationship is obvious. The details of the war are extremely heartfelt and you can feel the emotion rolling off the pages, of what it must have been like to be in that horrible situation. A truly bittersweet ending, and it really makes me regret that even though I was in the age of letter writing myself when my husband and i met, we never wrote each other letters as we saw each other everyday. It would have been nice to pull out letters from each other for my kids and my future grandkids to read.