Wherever Grace is Needed

by Elizabeth Bass

Returning home to Austin, Texas, to care for her father who has just been diagnosed with Alzheimer's, Grace Oliver becomes friends with her neighbor, Ray West, a widower, and as their relationship deepens, Ray's 16-year-old daughter tries to drive a wedge between them. Original.

Genres: Fiction, Romance, Chick Lit, Womens Fiction, Contemporary, Drama

400 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2011

About the author

Elizabeth Bass grew up the youngest of four siblings in rural Texas, where she spent summers watching old movies and dreaming of living in a town big enough to have an Icee machine. She now resides in Victoria, BC with her husband.

Reviews

[Samantha March · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wherever Grace is Needed by Elizabeth Bass isn’t a chick lit novel, but this story definitely won me over and deserves a five star review. The story centers around two very different families, neighbors living in Austin, Texas. Grace Oliver leaves behind her house, boyfriend, and business in Portland for a few weeks to help her father recuperate from a car accident. Grace loved her life in Texas, her father and her older half-brothers, but moved to Portland with her mother after the divorce. Feeling unsettled with her life, she jumps at the chance to go back to Austin. But while there, doctors discover that Lou, Grace’s father and usually a sharp as a tack retired college professor, is in the early stages of Alzheimer’s. The family is devastated by the news, and the diagnosis opens up a lot more questions on caring for Lou, his house, and his possessions.

The family next door to the Oliver’s are suffering from their own tragedy. Ray West and his three young children are trying to cope with the loss of a mother and young daughter. While Ray moves around like a zombie, not sure how to get past grieving for his dead wife, his children suffer from being left on there own. Especially Jordan, who feels guilty for the accident that left her mother and twin sister dead. Grace realizes that the family needs help, and the children need their father back. She becomes a support system for the children, and eventually Ray as well, and tries to help the healing process after such a loss.

I thought Wherever Grace is Needed was an incredibly touching story. Even though most of the book is filled with sad topics, I thought it was more uplifting and inspirational than making me want to cry throughout. Grace’s character is one who wants to help everyone, but at the same time she is trying to bury her own problems beneath the surface. That made her very real while reading the story, and all the supporting characters were phenomenal. Even though there were quite a few, Grace’s family, the West family, the other neighbors in Austin, etc., I never felt overwhelmed by all the lives I was keeping track of, which can happen with large casts. The writing flowed smoothly along, pushing me deeper into their lives instead of making me pull away in frustration. There are great lessons about family, loss, friendships, and love, and I wish I could find more words to praise this beautiful story. Five stars from me and advice to put this on your to-read list.
[Rating: 5]

[Idris · Rating 5 out of 5]

I just finished reading this book, and I must say that I loved it. When I started reading Wherever Grace is Needed, I didn't know what I was going to find in those pages. It was the first book by Elizabeth Bass I read and I didn't know if I was going to like the book or not, or If I was going to enjoy her writing style or not. But I'm glad to say that I really enjoyed it.

Elizabeth Bass tells the story of two different families, two broken families, two dysfunctional families, and how they need to work together to overcome their problems and find solutions, and keep living.

At the beginning the reader can think that this is like any other dramatic book, but I think that it is more than that. We will see real life problems, and how those problems affect the life of a family. We will see how their relationships deteriorate, and we will see sadness and depression. Topics like death, dementia, forgiveness, love, new opportunities and guiltiness are discussed in this story.

There are a lot of feelings in this novel, and I'm sure a lot of readers will feel some kind of connection with the main characters, maybe because they had the same problems, they were in the same situation, or because those characters are so real, that you think about them as real people and not as characters of a fiction book.

Like I said before, I really enjoyed this book. Bass' writing style is amazing, sweet and realistic. There were a lot of lovely, funny but also heartbreaking scenes in this novel, and the characters were no exception. (If you want read a tiny excerpt, read my Teaser Tuesday 10.)

I don't want to talk to much about the plot because I think that the best way to enjoy this novel is reading it. Highly recommended to adults and young adults!

Happy Reading!


I received this book from the author in exchange for an honest review.
Thank You.

[Bev Walkling · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this book by Elizabeth Bass. Grace moved away from her father as a child because of her parent's divorce but drops everything to be near him after he is hit by a car breaking his leg. It soon becomes apparent that he is the early stages of Alzheimer's disease and will need somebody to be with him for a long time to come. Ray and his three children Jordan, Lily and Dominic live next door to Grace's dad and are in the throes of learning to live without their mother and Jordan's twin sister Nina who were killed 4 months earlier in a head-on collision with another car. Each one mourns their loss differently and as a family they are struggling to survive. Grace becomes important to each one of them in different ways throughout the novel.

I journeyed with my Mom as she progressed through Alzheimer's disease and Bass gets it right in this book. The feelings Grace and her Dad and brothers experience ring true to me.I have experienced grief too and although it has ever been a loss like those faced by Ray's family, I think Bass also did an excellent job in capturing the feelings of each family member regardless of their age.

I think the choice of the name Grace for the heroine s a significant one. While this book in no way claims to be Christian or to have any overt message of that sort, Grace to me has that connotation. A simple explanation of Grace is "an undeserved gift" and in this novel that is the role that Grace plays. She makes her mark on each person without really setting out to and changes each one for the better. I highly recommend this book.

[Ania Danylo · Rating 4 out of 5]

I found it to be a very comfortable pleasant read. It fits into "Romance Week" very nicely. The characters are well written and unique. At first it seemed to jump around a mildly hard to follow, but once I caught on to the different families and how they would connect, I found it very intriguing and enjoyable.

[Pat · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great read. Hard to put down Would recommend this book to all families with teens. Never give up hope

Page turner!! A must read
Colorful characters Suspenseful ending. Great description of area. Enjoyed the plot and the ending Great

[Lorraine · Rating 2 out of 5]

Not the best book. It was very slow going but felt sorry for Jordan she rebelled because of the guilt she felt for the death of her twin sister and mother.

[Andrea · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was pleasant and fun just enough sadness and a good dose of teenagerness

[Rebecca · Rating 5 out of 5]

Heart warming

I dare anyone to read this without laughing and crying. Great book club read. I want to read more by E. Bass.

[Ro · Rating 3 out of 5]

My review: http://clmannarino.wordpress.com/2013...

[Darina · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very enjoyable book.

[Michele · Rating 2 out of 5]

Typical relationship book. Didn't finish it, however I did like her writing style, I would try another of her books, perhaps.

[Beth Peninger · Rating 4 out of 5]

I always appreciate the double meaning of something. Take the title of this book for example. Wherever Grace is needed she goes, wherever Grace is needed it is given.
Grace is in-between families. She's got 2 half brothers on her Dad's side and a half brother and sister on her Mom's side, she doesn't really feel like she belongs anywhere. We first meet Grace when she is 7 and then we meet up with her again when she is 30. By the time we meet the adult Grace she has figured out a life for herself and, quite frankly, is settling for less than good enough. As Grace travels from Portland to Austin, Texas we meet another family, this one will intersect with Grace soon. Jordan is a 16 year old in exile at her Grandparents house for the summer. Her Dad, brother, and sister are back in Austin. Grief covers this family like a heavy wet blanket. To protect her heart Jordan has built up strong walls around herself. Nobody in her family understands her. She and Grace, it will be discovered, have quite a bit in common - feeling in-between. All of the books main characters land on the same street in Austin, Texas during one summer. That summer stretches into fall, then winter, spring, and then summer again. Throughout the seasons relationships are formed, refined, broken, renewed, and each person is learning a bit more about themselves and their family members. And in order for it all to happen, Grace is needed.
I haven't read any other of Bass' titles and I really liked this story and her characters. She writes a relatable story, develops characters so it feels as if you know them, and even includes some brain food for thought. Bass explores family relationships, grief, life altering health issues, transitions, and more in this story of Grace.

[McGuffy Morris · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is the story of a family and the love that holds it together. The adage, “Grace under pressure” applies here.

Grace Oliver goes home after thirty years, to assist her father who is recovering from an auto accident. Unexpectedly, it is also revealed that he has Alzheimer’s disease. This prompts Grace to remain longer than she initially planned.

Unfortunately, the previously distant Grace finds herself confronting her past within the family, including her relationship with her siblings. She finds it difficult to reconnect as they disagree over not only the past, but their father’s future. She realizes that all must be resolved.

Amidst her own family crises, she learns that a tragedy that neighbor and his family are going through. Especially affected is the teen-aged daughter, Jordan. Grace tries to help this family, as well as her own. What she does not expect is how in giving care and support, she learns to receive and accept it. In reconnecting with her past, she finds new connections to her future. Grace learns the value and real definition of home.

Elizabeth Bass writes with comfortable warmth. Her characters feel genuine and their lives true. Grace is a blessing.

[Mel · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is the story of Grace Oliver, a young woman who was separated from her father and her older two brothers when she was twelve and her parents divorced. Her mother took her to live in Oregon while her father stayed in Texas. However, now Grace returns to Texas to care for her father who was hit by a car and broke his leg in the accident. But once Grace returns to Texas, she realizes something is not right with her father; in the following weeks, her father is diagnosed with Alzheimer's. She stays to care for him--and in doing so, meets the family next door, a family who is recovering from the loss of a sister/daughter and a mother/wife.

I really enjoyed this book--I loved the family relationships, the search for belonging, the knowledge of what both home and family means. I identified with Grace's position--at least the idea of returning to a childhood home and the process of losing a parent to dementia. I loved the next-door family, the Wests--especially Jordan, the teen-daughter who is so hurting due to loss of her twin. I loved this novel--the characters seemed real--flawed and loveably real.

At heart, this book is about sacrifice, about love, about belonging, about forgiveness... So many great things. Definitely a keeper.

[Nikki Barrett · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a story about coming home, to a place you once lived. It's a story of family, love, new chances, and the complications of all relationships- between fathers and daughters, brothers and sisters, and relationships between strangers that have more than just a common bond.

Grace gets the call that her father has been in an accident, and she immediately comes home, leaving behind her music shop and her boyfriend. She can't just say no to helping her father. And then she meets the family next door. Three kids- one of them being a sixteen year old who just isn't dealing well with loss, and their father.

This is an emotional touching story that delivers. Elizabeth Bass has a wonderful knack for writing such intense characters that are real. Readers can easily relate to many of them, and that's what makes this such a heartwarming story.

[(Lonestarlibrarian) Keddy Ann Outlaw · Rating 5 out of 5]

If you like to worry over characters in books, this one hits the spot. thirty-year-old record store owner Grace Oliver leaves her life in Portland, OR behind to go home to the Austin area when her father has an accident. Then it becomes clear her father is suffering from Alzheimers, and her visit turns into a true relocation. Add in the neighbors next door, widower Ray and his three kids, all grieving for the recent loss of their mother and sibling, and Grace has plenty of people to fuss over. She is a born nurturer, whether she knows it or not, and I much enjoyed following behind her hoping everyone's lives improved. I like all kinds of fiction, but this kind of domestic drama is my bread-and-butter reading. Or to chose a different metaphor, my worry bead reading! Funny how fictional peoples' problems distract us from our own and give such solace......

[R. · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really liked this story – covers a lot of family dynamics. I have boys who find it hard to get along with each other and often ended up in fist fights. I keep thinking that families with girls do not go through this stuff. This novel reminded me of just how mean sisters can be to each other. Grace is good at helping ease relationships between others. This is also the 3rd novel in about as many months that deals with the disease Alzheimers.
The writing is emotional and heart felt. I begin to care about these characters early in the story and hoped there will be resolution to their problems. I liked the ending - the place it left everyone made it feel like I could let them go

[jori · Rating 1 out of 5]

Not a bad book, necessarily, just not a good book. A two star rating feels more realistic but if the description of two stars is "it was ok" then...I'm afraid not. I'm not a crazy book critic or anything but in general, I got almost halfway through this book and just didn't feel any compulsion to continue reading. I wasn't connected to any of the characters, and I didn't really care what happened in the story. The writing, and storyline, felt a little immature. If you were in the airport bookstore and you got this to get you through a flight it would do the job. But you might not continue to read it once you got to your destination. A filler book. Not memorable.

[Kelly Boyce · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this book. The heroine, Grace Oliver is engaging and memorable, but what makes this story what it is are the layers within – her relationship with her father and older brothers and separation from them growing up; her father’s diagnosis and what that means; and the family next door that she becomes involved with – a family struggling from their own wounds.

This book covers the gamut but doesn’t fall short on any of it. I highly recommend this book to anyone looking to lose themselves in a great story.

[Joanna Paula Cailas · Rating 4 out of 5]

Had a slow start, but then you meet the characters, and you fall in love with them, even Jordan, who'll be my benchmark for 'difficult teen' now. This reads like Bass compiled a list of what makes the world a happy place and plonked them all here: a brother-slash-best friend, an ornery father-slash-best-friend, a dog, cats, neighbors (both lovely and the other kind)... all these side-by-side with the grief from losing a loved one so suddenly in an accident, and from the impending loss of a parent to Alzheimer's.

[Leanne · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is the story of two families with similar situations - one dealing with the new diagnosis of Alzheimer's and one with the death of a mom and sister. Grace is there for everybody, leaving her business and boyfriend in Portland and going to Austin, TX to help her father. While there, she meets the next-door neighbors and befriends the children coping with their loss.

Good character development and story line. Even though the outcomes were predictable, I wanted to know how they would be achieved.

I hadn't read anything by this author and I was pleased to find a new one I liked.

[Laura Buechler · Rating 2 out of 5]

It felt to me like this book needed to make up its mind. Was it about a grown woman returning home to help her father deal with Alzheimer's? Was it about a troubled teenage girl who believes she is responsible for the death of her mother and sister? Or was it "The Parent Trap"? I found the plot scattered and the characters scarcely developed, and the ending suffered from a bad case of "Whoops, time to end the story, let's wrap everything up neatly despite the fact that the characters have no motivation to act this way!" Solid "meh".

[Pmcdnld2 · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really liked this book. Grace leaves her boyfriend and her business in Oregon to help take care of her dad after he is hit by a car. Dad is then diagnosed with Alzheimers and her stay extends. She also gets involved with the family next door-a dad and 3 kids whose mother has been killed in a car accident. Parts of this are funny and parts are heartbreaking but a great read.

[Karen · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was an easy read but thoroughly captured me the minute I started it. There are lots of emotions to deal with...grief, teenage love and angst, an aging parent with Alzheimer's. It's amazing though how time and the closeness and big hearts of others can help to heal us in whatever it is we're dealing with.

[Liz Fichera · Rating 5 out of 5]

A very layered and heartwarming story about blended families, relationships, loss and even self-discovery. The characters and plot are woven together so beautifully and touched all of my emotional buttons. Once I started this book, I was unable to put it down.

[Carrie · Rating 4 out of 5]

A very sweet story about a woman who moves across the country to help her ailing father, and about a neighbor girl who is grieving the loss of some of her family in a car accident. Out of the sad situation comes a nice story about healing and growing.

[Heather · Rating 4 out of 5]

I loved this book. What a wonderful compilation of characters and personalities. I enjoyed every single situation and way curious to see where the story would lead. I suggest this if you are looking for an enjoyable read about family connections and the true meaning of a family relationship.

[Debdanz · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a totally predictable and sappy book with flat characters that allowed you to project whatever personality onto them that you wanted. And yet I really enjoyed it. Maybe bc it was set in Austin- lots of bbq. :)

[Jan · Rating 1 out of 5]

This irritating failure falls into my twice used category of: Books I Have Refused to Finish. I at one point attempted to skim read it instead but, my eyes kept getting gouged on words like "rents", "hemorrhoid" (as a description of a person), and "whoa". There's only so much I can tolerate.

[Cynthia DeVivo · Rating 4 out of 5]

It seems like its been some time since I have read a book and when I was finished felt like I really was a part is the characters world. This book made me feel that again. I would definitely recommend this book