Letters to the Lost

This month is proving to be a crying month when it comes to the books I read. So grab your tissues for this one. Because it is definitely high on my list of recommended books.

I don’t even know where to begin.

If you know grief, you know that everyone deals with it in their own way, and that at some point you usually feel like no one understands you. It is a topic that we tend to avoid and wind up isolating ourselves in an attempt at self preservation. Dealing with grief at any age is difficult, but honestly dealing with grief at a young age can be overwhelming.

Grief is such a terrible topic to work from, yet Brigid Kemmerer has taken too horrible backstories and made a truly astonishing narrative on the impact of grief, choices and moving on. She captures the struggle to maintain appearances and the stages of grief and guilt so accurately that I found myself reaching for tissues time and time again.

This is an ideal book for anyone, young and old, struggling to move on, dealing with choices and regrets.

My inner teenager loved the rebel kid gone good for the right girl. (Yes, I use to be a sucker for a bad boy) But I love the fact that she gave him so much more than just being a rebel/bad boy calling on our ability to make snap judgements. Kemmerer is such an amazing author, I honestly believe everyone can get something out of her books. This is the second book of hers that I have read and loved, calling out prejudice in different forms.

The writing is so easy to get swept up in, I finished the book in less than 24 hours. The Narrative, the flow, the plot – it all just works.

Synopsis

Juliet Young always writes letters to her mother, a world-traveling photojournalist. Even after her mother’s death, she leaves letters at her grave. It’s the only way Juliet can cope.

Declan Murphy isn’t the sort of guy you want to cross. In the midst of his court-ordered community service at the local cemetery, he’s trying to escape the demons of his past.
Juliet Young always writes letters to her mother, a world-traveling photojournalist. Even after her mother’s death, she leaves letters at her grave. It’s the only way Juliet can cope.

Declan Murphy isn’t the sort of guy you want to cross. In the midst of his court-ordered community service at the local cemetery, he’s trying to escape the demons of his past.

When Declan reads a haunting letter left beside a grave, he can’t resist writing back. Soon, he’s opening up to a perfect stranger, and their connection is immediate. But neither Declan nor Juliet knows that they’re not actually strangers. When life at school interferes with their secret life of letters, sparks will fly as Juliet and Declan discover truths that might tear them apart.

What is a book that changed the way you handled a difficult situation? Let me know in the comments