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Those We Love Most
A bright June day. A split-second distraction. A family forever changed.
Life is good for Maura Corrigan. Married to her college sweetheart, Pete, raising three young kids with her parents nearby in her peaceful Chicago suburb, her world is secure. Then one day, in a single turn of fate, that entire world comes crashing down and everything that she thought she knew changes.
Maura must learn to move forward with the weight of grief and the crushing guilt of an unforgivable secret. Pete senses a gap growing between him and his wife but finds it easier to escape to the bar with his friends than face the flaws in his marriage.
Meanwhile, Maura's parents are dealing with the fault lines in their own marriage. Charismatic Roger, who at sixty-five, is still chasing the next business deal and Margaret, a pragmatic and proud homemaker, have been married for four decades, seemingly happily. But the truth is more complicated. Like Maura, Roger has secrets of his own and when his deceptions and weaknesses are exposed, Margaret's love and loyalty face the ultimate test.
Those We Love Most chronicles how these unforgettable characters confront their choices, examine their mistakes, fight for their most valuable relationships, and ultimately find their way back to each other. It takes us deep into the heart of what makes families and marriages tick and explores a fundamental question: when the ties that bind us to those we love are strained or broken, how do we pick up the pieces?
Deeply penetrating and brimming with emotional insight, this engrossing family drama heralds the arrival of a major new voice in contemporary fiction.
Life is good for Maura Corrigan. Married to her college sweetheart, Pete, raising three young kids with her parents nearby in her peaceful Chicago suburb, her world is secure. Then one day, in a single turn of fate, that entire world comes crashing down and everything that she thought she knew changes.
Maura must learn to move forward with the weight of grief and the crushing guilt of an unforgivable secret. Pete senses a gap growing between him and his wife but finds it easier to escape to the bar with his friends than face the flaws in his marriage.
Meanwhile, Maura's parents are dealing with the fault lines in their own marriage. Charismatic Roger, who at sixty-five, is still chasing the next business deal and Margaret, a pragmatic and proud homemaker, have been married for four decades, seemingly happily. But the truth is more complicated. Like Maura, Roger has secrets of his own and when his deceptions and weaknesses are exposed, Margaret's love and loyalty face the ultimate test.
Those We Love Most chronicles how these unforgettable characters confront their choices, examine their mistakes, fight for their most valuable relationships, and ultimately find their way back to each other. It takes us deep into the heart of what makes families and marriages tick and explores a fundamental question: when the ties that bind us to those we love are strained or broken, how do we pick up the pieces?
Deeply penetrating and brimming with emotional insight, this engrossing family drama heralds the arrival of a major new voice in contemporary fiction.
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First published January 1, 2012
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About the author
Lee Woodruff
29 books237 followersIn addition to Those We Love Most (Sept 2012) Lee Woodruff is co-author of New York Times bestselling In an Instant & author of a series of essays Perfectly Imperfect. She is correspondent for CBS This Morning and has written numerous articles for Ladies Home Journal, Redbook & Parade. She & her husband co founded the Bob Woodruff Foundation which assists wounded veterans & their families. They reside in Westchester County with their four children.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 417 reviews
February 4, 2019
Two and a half stars
Maura is married to Pete and lives a comfortable suburban life raising their three children. Until one day something happens that send her world spinning upside down. Maura has to deal with not only her deep grief but also guilt that assails her. Her husband senses a chasm has opened up between them yet he has no idea how to deal with it. It is easier to escape with his mates and drown his sorrows in alcohol. Maura’s parents Margaret and Roger, who live nearby are also trying to deal with their grief and at the same time help their family. But sixty five year old Roger has secrets of his own, that he has been keeping for a few years.
This is an honest portrayal of grief and how different people deal with it or try to. It also highlights the way other people outside a family respond when a family is grieving. I found this was well done. However what stopped me from connected on a deeper emotional level was the characters. For different reasons I didn’t much like any of adults. My other problem was the plot felt predictable. Nothing that happened during the course of this book that took me by surprise. Though I kept reading, I was never fully engaged with these characters. I never felt in a hurry to pick the book back up.
In the end though it had ingredients that could have made this a strong novel I found it a bit disappointing. This is just my reaction. Others may connect better with these characters and gain more from this book, so best give it a go and make up your own mind.
Maura is married to Pete and lives a comfortable suburban life raising their three children. Until one day something happens that send her world spinning upside down. Maura has to deal with not only her deep grief but also guilt that assails her. Her husband senses a chasm has opened up between them yet he has no idea how to deal with it. It is easier to escape with his mates and drown his sorrows in alcohol. Maura’s parents Margaret and Roger, who live nearby are also trying to deal with their grief and at the same time help their family. But sixty five year old Roger has secrets of his own, that he has been keeping for a few years.
This is an honest portrayal of grief and how different people deal with it or try to. It also highlights the way other people outside a family respond when a family is grieving. I found this was well done. However what stopped me from connected on a deeper emotional level was the characters. For different reasons I didn’t much like any of adults. My other problem was the plot felt predictable. Nothing that happened during the course of this book that took me by surprise. Though I kept reading, I was never fully engaged with these characters. I never felt in a hurry to pick the book back up.
In the end though it had ingredients that could have made this a strong novel I found it a bit disappointing. This is just my reaction. Others may connect better with these characters and gain more from this book, so best give it a go and make up your own mind.
September 16, 2012
Our lives are built around a sense of checks and balances with expectations of how our life will play out. We anticipate living to a wonderful age where we have grandchildren to spoil and a quiet life surrounding us as we age. What if the order of the universe is changed and the child you planned to watch grow up is taken from you, where do you go from that one second when you were not looking and something happened that changes everything.
This book is a story about a family that details the heartbreak and life altering events that happen when a freak accident causes the loss of a child. Everyone involved has their own unique story, which Lee Woodruff tells with great care. She never over-dramatizes the emotions but rather reveals the best and worst in each character as they attempt to move on.
As the story unfolds, every reader wonders how you survive the grief, does guilt become less of a burden, where does forgiveness come from, and how do you ever believe in anything again. Imperfections become the standard-bearer for each individual in the family and one after another stands up to the challenge and faces the demon staring at them in the mirror.
Lee Woodruff has written a compelling and riveting story that shows how the worst of times shakes the best in us out of hiding.
This book is a story about a family that details the heartbreak and life altering events that happen when a freak accident causes the loss of a child. Everyone involved has their own unique story, which Lee Woodruff tells with great care. She never over-dramatizes the emotions but rather reveals the best and worst in each character as they attempt to move on.
As the story unfolds, every reader wonders how you survive the grief, does guilt become less of a burden, where does forgiveness come from, and how do you ever believe in anything again. Imperfections become the standard-bearer for each individual in the family and one after another stands up to the challenge and faces the demon staring at them in the mirror.
Lee Woodruff has written a compelling and riveting story that shows how the worst of times shakes the best in us out of hiding.
July 17, 2012
About a quarter of the way though, I realized this was going to be a DNF. Why? This book felt a little as though the author was trying to work something out for herself, and there was a little bit of "kitchen sinking" (where the problems the four main characters are having are neither surprising nor terribly interesting, but put there because someone has to be having this sort of problem to make the plot go forward).
The loss of a child does cause major disruption in a family and in the interfamily relationships, and had the individuals been slightly less predictable it might have been a better book.
ARC provided by publisher.
The loss of a child does cause major disruption in a family and in the interfamily relationships, and had the individuals been slightly less predictable it might have been a better book.
ARC provided by publisher.
October 14, 2014
This is an intense, beautifully-written, if somewhat depressing story—a real hidden gem. I won't rehash the plot highlights, as enough other reviewers have done that. But, contrary to some of the criticism I've seen, I thought the family's grief over the death of their nine-year-old son and grandson was handled beautifully and believably, while the deeper reasons for Maura's guilt were gradually and smartly unveiled. Her assessment of the inevitable disappointments, slights, and temptations inherent in any long-term marriage rang so true as to be both reassuring and unsettling.
Although one Amazon reviewer complained about the preachy Christian themes, I disagree that this is an unrevealed "Christian-genre" book. It is a story about a troubled, conflicted family who happens to be Catholic. It does contain one somewhat hoaky scene where son James's spirit hovers around and then moves on to Heaven, but the writing and imagery are purely stunning, whether or not you believe in that sort of thing.
Woodruff hands us some rather ugly moments, too. For example, Maura's father deciding to "take his pleasure" before initiating the "distasteful" talk necessary to break up with his Hispanic mistress; wife Margaret's racist inner rantings against said mistress ("she could smell the wantonness coming off her"), and her absolutely cringe-worthy mental tirade against a Muslim bank teller. When reading those, let us hope they do not reflect the author's views. (As someone who has been thus accused, I understand the difference between one's personal beliefs and those of her fictional characters, so I will give Ms. Woodruff the benefit of the doubt!)
It is precisely those scenes that make these characters so human; though mostly sympathetic, they are presented as flawed, realistic, and not always likeable, especially in the face of tragedy. But who is? I found the harsh realism and deep emotion compelling and convincing, especially given the sensitive topic of losing a child. I would highly recommend Those We Love Most to anyone looking for a gripping yet intelligent story that really hits us where we live.
Although one Amazon reviewer complained about the preachy Christian themes, I disagree that this is an unrevealed "Christian-genre" book. It is a story about a troubled, conflicted family who happens to be Catholic. It does contain one somewhat hoaky scene where son James's spirit hovers around and then moves on to Heaven, but the writing and imagery are purely stunning, whether or not you believe in that sort of thing.
Woodruff hands us some rather ugly moments, too. For example, Maura's father deciding to "take his pleasure" before initiating the "distasteful" talk necessary to break up with his Hispanic mistress; wife Margaret's racist inner rantings against said mistress ("she could smell the wantonness coming off her"), and her absolutely cringe-worthy mental tirade against a Muslim bank teller. When reading those, let us hope they do not reflect the author's views. (As someone who has been thus accused, I understand the difference between one's personal beliefs and those of her fictional characters, so I will give Ms. Woodruff the benefit of the doubt!)
It is precisely those scenes that make these characters so human; though mostly sympathetic, they are presented as flawed, realistic, and not always likeable, especially in the face of tragedy. But who is? I found the harsh realism and deep emotion compelling and convincing, especially given the sensitive topic of losing a child. I would highly recommend Those We Love Most to anyone looking for a gripping yet intelligent story that really hits us where we live.
September 17, 2012
To be sure, I thought Those We Love Most was going to be a vanity project by yet ANOTHER famous person. But it wasn't. Lee is a writer by trade and in some ways, her stories remind me of Jennifer Weiner's stories: tales of normal people and how they respond to life. The characters are flawed, but not desperately so, but they are relatable. You might know Maura or Margaret or have seen them in the grocery store.
Woodruff knows about loss, having dealt with the issue with her husband's TBI. And in a very neat way, she works the story of loss into the book. The loss is totally believable and they way the characters deal with the losses could also happen in real life. So much so, that you'd think the book was a work of non-fiction. It's that believable.
I'm not a sucker for romance nor a happy ending. I like endings that make sense and I squirm at too much "i love you we can work this out no matter what" ideologies. Those We Love Most isn't like that.
* *
Can I preface this book review with: I love Lee Woodruff. I love her! I do. I want Leesies to be my bestie. I want her to come over to my house and sit at my kitchen bistro table and drink coffee with me.
Or maybe we'll go shopping, just us girls: go to King of Prussia Mall and stop and have a cuppa tea and then lunch at Legal Seafoods, all the while chatting about women stuff and husbands and telling each other how fab we look in the outfits we try on. It would be great, really.
She'd love it. And me.
Prolly.
The thing about Lee Woodruff is, she's FAMOUS. Like, on TV famous. She's on CBS This Morning and her husband is the famous Bob Woodruff, the journalist embedded in the Middle East who suffered a traumatic brain injury.
Like I said, she's famous so when I met her at BEA this June, I was impressed by how NORMAL she was. Seriously.
During BEA I attended an author speed dating session and Lee was one of the speed daters. The authors went table to table greeting us book bloggers and telling us about their latest books. There was very little time for interaction as they had to visit 17 tables of 8 people each. It was INSANE! But guess what? In that 3-5 minutes of lightning speed interaction, I picked up something abut Lee. We even had a very brief conversation. I'm sure she'll never remember me, but you know what? She stuck with me. So, I collected her book and vowed to read it.
To be sure, I thought Those We Love Most was going to be a vanity project by yet ANOTHER famous person. But it wasn't. Lee is a writer by trade and in some ways, her stories remind me of Jennifer Weiner's stories: tales of normal people and how they respond to life. The characters are flawed, but not desperately so, but they are relatable. You might know Maura or Margaret or have seen them in the grocery store.
Woodruff knows about loss, having dealt with the issue with her husband's TBI. And in a very neat way, she works the story of loss into the book. The loss is totally believable and they way the characters deal with the losses could also happen in real life. So much so, that you'd think the book was a work of non-fiction. It's that believable.
I'm not a sucker for romance nor a happy ending. I like endings that make sense and I squirm at too much "i love you we can work this out no matter what" ideologies. Those We Love Most isn't like that.
It's better.
Put it on your TBR list when you need a break from hot, steamy sex or vampires in dystopian settings.
So here's a message to my new BFF Lee: If you're ever in the Philadelphia region, I've got a cuppa coffee with your name on it. I'll even let ya drink outta my Frida Kahlo mug, it's my fave.
You are too.
Woodruff knows about loss, having dealt with the issue with her husband's TBI. And in a very neat way, she works the story of loss into the book. The loss is totally believable and they way the characters deal with the losses could also happen in real life. So much so, that you'd think the book was a work of non-fiction. It's that believable.
I'm not a sucker for romance nor a happy ending. I like endings that make sense and I squirm at too much "i love you we can work this out no matter what" ideologies. Those We Love Most isn't like that.
* *
Can I preface this book review with: I love Lee Woodruff. I love her! I do. I want Leesies to be my bestie. I want her to come over to my house and sit at my kitchen bistro table and drink coffee with me.
Or maybe we'll go shopping, just us girls: go to King of Prussia Mall and stop and have a cuppa tea and then lunch at Legal Seafoods, all the while chatting about women stuff and husbands and telling each other how fab we look in the outfits we try on. It would be great, really.
She'd love it. And me.
Prolly.
The thing about Lee Woodruff is, she's FAMOUS. Like, on TV famous. She's on CBS This Morning and her husband is the famous Bob Woodruff, the journalist embedded in the Middle East who suffered a traumatic brain injury.
Like I said, she's famous so when I met her at BEA this June, I was impressed by how NORMAL she was. Seriously.
During BEA I attended an author speed dating session and Lee was one of the speed daters. The authors went table to table greeting us book bloggers and telling us about their latest books. There was very little time for interaction as they had to visit 17 tables of 8 people each. It was INSANE! But guess what? In that 3-5 minutes of lightning speed interaction, I picked up something abut Lee. We even had a very brief conversation. I'm sure she'll never remember me, but you know what? She stuck with me. So, I collected her book and vowed to read it.
To be sure, I thought Those We Love Most was going to be a vanity project by yet ANOTHER famous person. But it wasn't. Lee is a writer by trade and in some ways, her stories remind me of Jennifer Weiner's stories: tales of normal people and how they respond to life. The characters are flawed, but not desperately so, but they are relatable. You might know Maura or Margaret or have seen them in the grocery store.
Woodruff knows about loss, having dealt with the issue with her husband's TBI. And in a very neat way, she works the story of loss into the book. The loss is totally believable and they way the characters deal with the losses could also happen in real life. So much so, that you'd think the book was a work of non-fiction. It's that believable.
I'm not a sucker for romance nor a happy ending. I like endings that make sense and I squirm at too much "i love you we can work this out no matter what" ideologies. Those We Love Most isn't like that.
It's better.
Put it on your TBR list when you need a break from hot, steamy sex or vampires in dystopian settings.
So here's a message to my new BFF Lee: If you're ever in the Philadelphia region, I've got a cuppa coffee with your name on it. I'll even let ya drink outta my Frida Kahlo mug, it's my fave.
You are too.
dnf
December 17, 2012Those We Love Most was kindly provided to me by Netgalley for Hyperion.
Expected publication: September 11th 2012 by Hyperion
Interested in more of my reviews? Visit my blog!
I was able to see very early on in this story that this was not the book for me, thus no rating.
Those We Love Most tells the tale of Maura Corrigan who was walking her son to school one day, wasn't paying attention for an apparently selfish reason, when her son James is hit by a car and dies a few days later. Told from the point of view of several different family members including Maura's mother Margaret and her father Roger. Roger is also dealing with grief of his ongoing affair... ongoing for five years. The death of James results in stirring up all the problems that have been kept buried within the family.
So, my issues and reason for not finishing.
This isn't being classified as Christian Fiction but had some huge religious undertones which was a big turn off for me. The comments from Roger regarding Maura's husband really rubbed me the wrong way.
'On paper, he was great son-in-law material:...Pete had an even temperament and no funny earrings or designer facial hair.'
Okay, pause. Seriously? Just because you have earrings or crazy facial hair does not make you any less of a good person. Continuing on.
'Moreover, he was a practicing Catholic, something that had appealed to Roger after the string of Jewish and Protestant boys Maura had dated in high school and college.'
Ugh. I hate this simple-minded way of regarding people in terms of their religious beliefs and defining them based solely on that. Having ANY other religious beliefs than your own is not a terrible thing. Also, just because you're Catholic does not automatically make you a better person. Look at you Mr. Roger, Catholic and yet having a five-year long affair on your wife of FOUR DECADES.
So bottom line, I couldn't get past page 50 based on the huge religious undertones and the cheating - something I could have done without. Two things that I really have no desire to read about.
Before anyone decides to comment on the fact that I didn't give this book a chance, these are just my opinions based on the 50 pages that I felt needed to be stated and that is why I have opted to not rate this book. I knew early on that this was not the book for me and figured it would be best to chuck it rather than force myself to read it in its entirety and then give it a horrible rating.
Expected publication: September 11th 2012 by Hyperion
Interested in more of my reviews? Visit my blog!
I was able to see very early on in this story that this was not the book for me, thus no rating.
Those We Love Most tells the tale of Maura Corrigan who was walking her son to school one day, wasn't paying attention for an apparently selfish reason, when her son James is hit by a car and dies a few days later. Told from the point of view of several different family members including Maura's mother Margaret and her father Roger. Roger is also dealing with grief of his ongoing affair... ongoing for five years. The death of James results in stirring up all the problems that have been kept buried within the family.
So, my issues and reason for not finishing.
This isn't being classified as Christian Fiction but had some huge religious undertones which was a big turn off for me. The comments from Roger regarding Maura's husband really rubbed me the wrong way.
'On paper, he was great son-in-law material:...Pete had an even temperament and no funny earrings or designer facial hair.'
Okay, pause. Seriously? Just because you have earrings or crazy facial hair does not make you any less of a good person. Continuing on.
'Moreover, he was a practicing Catholic, something that had appealed to Roger after the string of Jewish and Protestant boys Maura had dated in high school and college.'
Ugh. I hate this simple-minded way of regarding people in terms of their religious beliefs and defining them based solely on that. Having ANY other religious beliefs than your own is not a terrible thing. Also, just because you're Catholic does not automatically make you a better person. Look at you Mr. Roger, Catholic and yet having a five-year long affair on your wife of FOUR DECADES.
So bottom line, I couldn't get past page 50 based on the huge religious undertones and the cheating - something I could have done without. Two things that I really have no desire to read about.
Before anyone decides to comment on the fact that I didn't give this book a chance, these are just my opinions based on the 50 pages that I felt needed to be stated and that is why I have opted to not rate this book. I knew early on that this was not the book for me and figured it would be best to chuck it rather than force myself to read it in its entirety and then give it a horrible rating.
February 12, 2013
It is as if the author wrote this novel as a homework assignment for her author writing club - insert plot A here, add twist B here, add element C here and voila - you get an "A" on following directions. The story is competently written. That's the best I can say of it. But the author seems only to be telling a story versus living the tale or inviting the reader to live it. As far as the content - it seems to be a distillation of 10 or so "Can This Marriage Be Saved" columns. There are no surprises here - you can glean what will happen well in advance of the "action". The adulterous affairs are cliched, poorly explored and resolved and most tellingly, the traumatic scene elicits little emotion from me. If the author is not going to invest more of herself in her work, I shan't be in investing more time in reading her.
September 19, 2012
This is the tragic story of the loss of a child and how the family deals with the aftermath. When 9-year old James dies suddenly, his family must deal with the loss in different ways. His grandparents are crushed by the loss of James, but also must deal with the horrible pain that their daughter is in. Maura and Pete must each deal with James' death as his parents. Maura must also explore if she had a role in the accident.
While this was an interesting story, I wasn't really gripped by it. The premise is, of course, very sad. Unfortunately, I couldn't really develop a connection to any of the characters. Overall, the book was interesting enough to read in its entirety, but otherwise, not nearly as memorable as I'd hoped.
While this was an interesting story, I wasn't really gripped by it. The premise is, of course, very sad. Unfortunately, I couldn't really develop a connection to any of the characters. Overall, the book was interesting enough to read in its entirety, but otherwise, not nearly as memorable as I'd hoped.
Want to read
October 12, 2012I really like Lee Woodruff's books and am so thrilled to be getting this!
September 9, 2012
I love a book that has such powerful emotional honesty that you just can't help becoming invested in it. CBS This Morning journalist Lee Woodruff's first novel, Those We Love Most, is one of those books.
This is a multigenerational story, about Maura, wife and mom to three young children, and her mother Margaret. A moment of inattention by Maura forever changes their lives, one that will cause her to feel incredible guilt and pain. The tragedy that follows is compounded by the secret of betrayal that Maura carries.
Margaret is a rock for her daughter, doing all she can to get her and the family through the aftermath of a beloved child's death. She loves her husband Roger, and when he faces a health crisis, she is also forced to face a secret that he has been hiding from her, one that if she were honest with herself, she already knew.
This is a novel about how hard it is to be married, and the resilience of the human spirit. Margaret describes her life with Roger after many years together:
"The patterns and paths of their life together, especially in the past decade, had become more and more divergent. She had her set schedule: gardening, bridge, exercise, and the occasional lunch with friends. Being a devoted grandmother, a role of which she was immensely proud, also took up a large portion of her time....But Roger spent too much time in the office at his stage in life, in her opinion."
Margaret is a character that many women will relate to: the one who keeps things together, who never falls apart, soldiers through everything.
"Margaret believed it was wife's job to keep the exterior facade spackled and impenetrable, to prevent the cracks from showing on the outside. In her mind, a classy woman never broke rank."
Maura and her husband Pete had their own problems before the tragedy.
"Things had been operating on this half-speed for a while, Maura acknowledged, each of them heading down an easy slipstream in marriage where the valuable, intimate parts begin to erode in a tidal wave of banality."
Woodruff succeeds in bringing these women to life; indeed, they are women you feel that you know in your own life. Her observations about marriage at its different stages will resonate with many women.
The writing is insightful, and the scenes at the hospital will break your heart. It is clear that Woodruff drew on her own experiences with her husband ABC Bob Woodruff's traumatic brain injuries suffered during the Iraq War to write these emotional passages.
I can't remembered being so viscerally affected by a novel; Woodruff's first work of fiction is emotional, heartbreaking and ultimately uplifting. This is a book I will recommend to anyone looking for a story to lose yourself in.
This is a multigenerational story, about Maura, wife and mom to three young children, and her mother Margaret. A moment of inattention by Maura forever changes their lives, one that will cause her to feel incredible guilt and pain. The tragedy that follows is compounded by the secret of betrayal that Maura carries.
Margaret is a rock for her daughter, doing all she can to get her and the family through the aftermath of a beloved child's death. She loves her husband Roger, and when he faces a health crisis, she is also forced to face a secret that he has been hiding from her, one that if she were honest with herself, she already knew.
This is a novel about how hard it is to be married, and the resilience of the human spirit. Margaret describes her life with Roger after many years together:
"The patterns and paths of their life together, especially in the past decade, had become more and more divergent. She had her set schedule: gardening, bridge, exercise, and the occasional lunch with friends. Being a devoted grandmother, a role of which she was immensely proud, also took up a large portion of her time....But Roger spent too much time in the office at his stage in life, in her opinion."
Margaret is a character that many women will relate to: the one who keeps things together, who never falls apart, soldiers through everything.
"Margaret believed it was wife's job to keep the exterior facade spackled and impenetrable, to prevent the cracks from showing on the outside. In her mind, a classy woman never broke rank."
Maura and her husband Pete had their own problems before the tragedy.
"Things had been operating on this half-speed for a while, Maura acknowledged, each of them heading down an easy slipstream in marriage where the valuable, intimate parts begin to erode in a tidal wave of banality."
Woodruff succeeds in bringing these women to life; indeed, they are women you feel that you know in your own life. Her observations about marriage at its different stages will resonate with many women.
The writing is insightful, and the scenes at the hospital will break your heart. It is clear that Woodruff drew on her own experiences with her husband ABC Bob Woodruff's traumatic brain injuries suffered during the Iraq War to write these emotional passages.
I can't remembered being so viscerally affected by a novel; Woodruff's first work of fiction is emotional, heartbreaking and ultimately uplifting. This is a book I will recommend to anyone looking for a story to lose yourself in.
September 27, 2012
I read this book because one of my favorite novelists, Adriana Trigiani, recommended it on her facebook page, and she wrote a blurb on the book cover. This is a realistic novel about the effects that a tragedy has on an entire extended family. Early in the novel, Maura is walking her two sons and an toddler daughter to the local elementary school. Her oldest child is riding his bike, and when he is a bit further up the street, she takes her eyes off him for a minute, and their lives are changed forever. He is hit by a car, and after lingering in a coma for about a week, he dies. The aftermath of his death brings emotional havoc to his family and his community. Maura's parents, her husband, and her siblings struggle with the void left by this little boy's sudden death. Maura is forced to deal with conflicts in her marriage that had been simmering beneath the surface, her feelings that she was missing something in her relationship with Peter, his drinking, and her guilt over the accident. Maura's parents are also dealing with some issues in their own marriage as well, as an unexpected complication forces them to confront whether or not their relationship will survive. Additionally, the effects of the accident on the community and the teenage driver of the car are also depicted in this novel. We have all read the headlines describing tragedies such as this, but this novel succeeds in describing what happens one month, six months, a year later, as the survivors struggle to make sense of what happened and to live a "new normal" life. Great book.
August 8, 2012
My review:
I met Lee Woodruff on the BEA2012 author signing and I really had high expectations to Those We Love Most. Somehow I had an idea that it is an enjoyable read. Those We Love Most is a book about marriage, loss of your child, survival and last but not least about family values.
Plot:
Meet Maura, a wife and a mother who walks on the street on a wonderful June day. She is walking her son to school and for one moment where she is not paying attention, car hits her son James so unfortunately, that after few days in the hospital James dies.
James’ death changes everything for the family. It breaks the family apart and brings it together again.
Maura’s life shatters, nothing and nobody matters to her anymore, not even her other kids. Maura is wrapping herself into blame, anger, pain and loss. Margaret, Maura’s mother is the person who keeps the family together, she takes care of Maura’s children, cleans the house, cooks for the family – she is keeping both of her legs down on earth and is a key person of giving Maura the time needed to grieve. Maura’s father, Roger is finding strength to use James’ death to leave his mistress and he takes first steps to come back closer to his wife Margaret.
There are so many deep and dark secrets hidden behind the façade which start to crackle after James’ death and main characters need to face the results of their own actions. It is said, that life is actually easy, but people tend to live their lives complicatedly. That is also the main theme of the book. Maura needs to face her affair, Roger needs to face a stroke and Margaret needs to face the truth. At the very end, we need to understand, that what comes around, goes around.
The author asks very simple questions which are difficult to answer: Why do we hurt people we love? Why is it that we admire and love our spouses and yet try to find some excitement, some happiness from outside of marriage? Why do we forgive? Why do we let go? Why do we survive the most difficult things in our lives? Where do we find the strength to continue?
What I liked is, that the author does not give simple answers, but shows through the development of the characters, that we humans are stronger than we think and I loved that.
The story is told by several points of views: Maura, her mother Margaret and her father Roger all have very significant voices and you can easily recognize whose thoughts you are reading.
Those We Love Most is a book about everyday life, about challenges people meet and how people overcome them or give up. Accidents, cheating, betrayals, love can happen to anyone and that is what makes this book so relatable and easy to understand.
Characters:
Lee Woodruff made an excellent work with all the characters. They were so down to earth, so real, and so human – it was easy to understand them and their flaws. There were no single character where I could say or point out, that I disliked him or her, because the author managed to mirror them like we all are – there are parts of a person that you like, admire, love and then there are parts which you do not approve, but which were still understandable. The characters we real people without any exaggerated characteristics and this made Those We Love Most a very good novel.
I liked Maura with all her flaws. I felt her pain when she lost her son. I understood her actions when not wanting to meet Alex – a guy who drove the car and caused the death of James. I raised an eyebrow when Maura decided to meet up with her lover again. I felt for her when these disillusions were eliminated. I felt hope when Maura started to heal. I was heartbroken when she finally gave in for grief.
I guess what I am trying to say here is, that Maura was humanly so likable and relatable, that you can easily understand her. She makes sense and that means for me that the author has really put her heart and efforts to the character.
I admired Margaret for her strength. After she found out, that Roger was having an affair, she was angry, disappointed, and heartbroken and she acted like an “old-school” woman would – she did not say a word, just kept doing whatever she was good at. She kept the façade just like it is expected from women from her generation. I loved the scenes when she faced her husband’s lover in the hospital telling her never to come back. She was very brave. I also enjoyed her love to Roger after his stroke, not all women would do that, they would not be able to handle taking over the patriarch’s role in the family and accepting, that nothing will ever be the same again.
Generally:
Those We Love Most by Lee Woodruff is a book which is intense, emotional and sharp. It looks deep into issues which many people are familiar with and tells a story you will keep thinking about long after you have turned the last page. I highly recommend Those We Love Most!
I met Lee Woodruff on the BEA2012 author signing and I really had high expectations to Those We Love Most. Somehow I had an idea that it is an enjoyable read. Those We Love Most is a book about marriage, loss of your child, survival and last but not least about family values.
Plot:
Meet Maura, a wife and a mother who walks on the street on a wonderful June day. She is walking her son to school and for one moment where she is not paying attention, car hits her son James so unfortunately, that after few days in the hospital James dies.
James’ death changes everything for the family. It breaks the family apart and brings it together again.
Maura’s life shatters, nothing and nobody matters to her anymore, not even her other kids. Maura is wrapping herself into blame, anger, pain and loss. Margaret, Maura’s mother is the person who keeps the family together, she takes care of Maura’s children, cleans the house, cooks for the family – she is keeping both of her legs down on earth and is a key person of giving Maura the time needed to grieve. Maura’s father, Roger is finding strength to use James’ death to leave his mistress and he takes first steps to come back closer to his wife Margaret.
There are so many deep and dark secrets hidden behind the façade which start to crackle after James’ death and main characters need to face the results of their own actions. It is said, that life is actually easy, but people tend to live their lives complicatedly. That is also the main theme of the book. Maura needs to face her affair, Roger needs to face a stroke and Margaret needs to face the truth. At the very end, we need to understand, that what comes around, goes around.
The author asks very simple questions which are difficult to answer: Why do we hurt people we love? Why is it that we admire and love our spouses and yet try to find some excitement, some happiness from outside of marriage? Why do we forgive? Why do we let go? Why do we survive the most difficult things in our lives? Where do we find the strength to continue?
What I liked is, that the author does not give simple answers, but shows through the development of the characters, that we humans are stronger than we think and I loved that.
The story is told by several points of views: Maura, her mother Margaret and her father Roger all have very significant voices and you can easily recognize whose thoughts you are reading.
Those We Love Most is a book about everyday life, about challenges people meet and how people overcome them or give up. Accidents, cheating, betrayals, love can happen to anyone and that is what makes this book so relatable and easy to understand.
Characters:
Lee Woodruff made an excellent work with all the characters. They were so down to earth, so real, and so human – it was easy to understand them and their flaws. There were no single character where I could say or point out, that I disliked him or her, because the author managed to mirror them like we all are – there are parts of a person that you like, admire, love and then there are parts which you do not approve, but which were still understandable. The characters we real people without any exaggerated characteristics and this made Those We Love Most a very good novel.
I liked Maura with all her flaws. I felt her pain when she lost her son. I understood her actions when not wanting to meet Alex – a guy who drove the car and caused the death of James. I raised an eyebrow when Maura decided to meet up with her lover again. I felt for her when these disillusions were eliminated. I felt hope when Maura started to heal. I was heartbroken when she finally gave in for grief.
I guess what I am trying to say here is, that Maura was humanly so likable and relatable, that you can easily understand her. She makes sense and that means for me that the author has really put her heart and efforts to the character.
I admired Margaret for her strength. After she found out, that Roger was having an affair, she was angry, disappointed, and heartbroken and she acted like an “old-school” woman would – she did not say a word, just kept doing whatever she was good at. She kept the façade just like it is expected from women from her generation. I loved the scenes when she faced her husband’s lover in the hospital telling her never to come back. She was very brave. I also enjoyed her love to Roger after his stroke, not all women would do that, they would not be able to handle taking over the patriarch’s role in the family and accepting, that nothing will ever be the same again.
Generally:
Those We Love Most by Lee Woodruff is a book which is intense, emotional and sharp. It looks deep into issues which many people are familiar with and tells a story you will keep thinking about long after you have turned the last page. I highly recommend Those We Love Most!
October 11, 2012
*Won ARC through a Goodreads Giveaway*
This novel is the first fictional work of author Lee Woodruff and it is an emotional rollercoaster. The story centrals four people, Maura, Margaret, Pete, and Roger. Their whole world is turned upside down after the death of Maura and Pete's son, James. Margaret and Roger are Maura's parents. One moment of neglect threatens to fracture the relationships they have with one another. I felt this was a tear-jerker at first and I was thinking game on since I love them.
Those We Love Most explores the challenges in relationships and how fragile they actually are. Love, trust, betrayal, selfishness, and forgiveness are very strong themes in this novel. What else is a strong theme cheating. A couple of the characters had some problems keeping whatever they have in their pants. I mention this because it's one of the reasons for my low rating.
I felt that Maura and Roger were the people I cared for least in this book. Ironically Maura should be the heroine and the person most would root for. Instead I found that outside of her dealing with the death of her son, she was selfish. Her father Roger is extremely selfish as well. I didn't think that either of them were worthy of the people who loved them most.
Ultimately the novel is well-written and are geared towards the readers who like emotional reads. The author did a great job at describing all of the characters (for better or worse) which helped me overlook some of the problems I had with them, but not completely. I also felt that one of the characters, Margaret, should have had a more starring role. I recommend this book to anyone who just likes reading Lifetime movies (not that there's anything wrong with that). It is the kindof book that will make anyone think twice about their actions and repurcussions.
This novel is the first fictional work of author Lee Woodruff and it is an emotional rollercoaster. The story centrals four people, Maura, Margaret, Pete, and Roger. Their whole world is turned upside down after the death of Maura and Pete's son, James. Margaret and Roger are Maura's parents. One moment of neglect threatens to fracture the relationships they have with one another. I felt this was a tear-jerker at first and I was thinking game on since I love them.
Those We Love Most explores the challenges in relationships and how fragile they actually are. Love, trust, betrayal, selfishness, and forgiveness are very strong themes in this novel. What else is a strong theme cheating. A couple of the characters had some problems keeping whatever they have in their pants. I mention this because it's one of the reasons for my low rating.
I felt that Maura and Roger were the people I cared for least in this book. Ironically Maura should be the heroine and the person most would root for. Instead I found that outside of her dealing with the death of her son, she was selfish. Her father Roger is extremely selfish as well. I didn't think that either of them were worthy of the people who loved them most.
Ultimately the novel is well-written and are geared towards the readers who like emotional reads. The author did a great job at describing all of the characters (for better or worse) which helped me overlook some of the problems I had with them, but not completely. I also felt that one of the characters, Margaret, should have had a more starring role. I recommend this book to anyone who just likes reading Lifetime movies (not that there's anything wrong with that). It is the kindof book that will make anyone think twice about their actions and repurcussions.
July 8, 2012
Those We Love Most
by
Lee Woodruff
My " in a nutshell" summary...
A family suffers an unbearable loss...we are witness to the repercussions of this tragedy on every family member.
My thoughts after reading this book...
I must say that this book was sad but at no time did I ever want to stop reading it. It was beautifully written. Feelings were described in such a profound way that I felt every part of this story. The sadness of Maura, the coolness of Margaret, the less than stellar personality of Roger...all added to the emotions surrounding the tragedy, the loss that each family member incurred.
So...what happened to James ultimately has an effect on everyone in this family. Maura, his mother, has to deal with the guilt she feels because she looked at her phone instead of watching her son and the reason she did is a selfish one. Alex, the driver of the car, has to deal with his guilt for hitting James. Pete, the dad, chooses drinking with his friends rather than coming home to a distant and grieving Maura. Roger, Maura's father, has his own guilt over an extramarital affair that he wants to end. Margaret, Maura's mother, tries to be there for everyone. Roger has no clue that she knows about his affair. Needless to say it is a year of misery and a time of awakenings for this family.
What I loved most about this book...
I loved the writing. I loved the growth of the characters. I loved the way the story was unwrapped. It was tremendously sad and sweet at the same time.
What I did not love...
It took me a while to like some of the characters. Margaret seemed coolish and too perfect. Pete seemed selfish. Maura seemed stuck in grief. Roger was vain and disloyal.
Final thoughts about this book...
It was warm and real and sad. It was a lovely intense family drama. It didn't really remind me of any other book I have read...it sort of stands alone. I loved it.
by
Lee Woodruff
My " in a nutshell" summary...
A family suffers an unbearable loss...we are witness to the repercussions of this tragedy on every family member.
My thoughts after reading this book...
I must say that this book was sad but at no time did I ever want to stop reading it. It was beautifully written. Feelings were described in such a profound way that I felt every part of this story. The sadness of Maura, the coolness of Margaret, the less than stellar personality of Roger...all added to the emotions surrounding the tragedy, the loss that each family member incurred.
So...what happened to James ultimately has an effect on everyone in this family. Maura, his mother, has to deal with the guilt she feels because she looked at her phone instead of watching her son and the reason she did is a selfish one. Alex, the driver of the car, has to deal with his guilt for hitting James. Pete, the dad, chooses drinking with his friends rather than coming home to a distant and grieving Maura. Roger, Maura's father, has his own guilt over an extramarital affair that he wants to end. Margaret, Maura's mother, tries to be there for everyone. Roger has no clue that she knows about his affair. Needless to say it is a year of misery and a time of awakenings for this family.
What I loved most about this book...
I loved the writing. I loved the growth of the characters. I loved the way the story was unwrapped. It was tremendously sad and sweet at the same time.
What I did not love...
It took me a while to like some of the characters. Margaret seemed coolish and too perfect. Pete seemed selfish. Maura seemed stuck in grief. Roger was vain and disloyal.
Final thoughts about this book...
It was warm and real and sad. It was a lovely intense family drama. It didn't really remind me of any other book I have read...it sort of stands alone. I loved it.
August 5, 2012
Who could predict that on such a seductively beautiful June day, the worst would happen? Filled with a secret tucked away and causing her heart to brim over, Maura Corrigan could never have known that, before day's end, her life would change in unimaginable ways.
As we watch the events unfold, our hearts catch, knowing what lies ahead and unable to avert the disaster.
A death in the family is probably the most shattering event in life, and its after effects continue to ripple outward for months and years afterwards. Testing the ties that bind, sometimes the fragile connections rip apart.
Maura's secrets and the guilt she feels will exacerbate the pain and loss and ultimately will delay the healing process. Before she can move on, she must confront what lies within; she must look to her marriage partner and reach out, despite their issues; and finally, she might decide that, to spare her beloved, the secrets must stay hidden.
Margaret and Roger Munson, Maura's parents, are also struck by the pain and grief, and while trying to help Maura, must deal with their own marital strains. Roger's career trajectory seems to have stalled, and Margaret's role as a help meet is tested by Roger's errors in judgment.
I liked these thoughts at the end of "Those We Love Most":
"...the loss had, in the end, become their terrible unifier, the thing that had strengthened and cauterized them."
Looking at pain and loss as a means to finally heal leaves the stricken with a ray of hope. Just as the richly detailed characters left me, as a reader, feeling as though I had felt some of their pain and come to know the issues with which they struggled.
Sometimes the story bogged down with detail and angst, but in general, this four star read kept me moving along and hoping for these characters to find their way.
As we watch the events unfold, our hearts catch, knowing what lies ahead and unable to avert the disaster.
A death in the family is probably the most shattering event in life, and its after effects continue to ripple outward for months and years afterwards. Testing the ties that bind, sometimes the fragile connections rip apart.
Maura's secrets and the guilt she feels will exacerbate the pain and loss and ultimately will delay the healing process. Before she can move on, she must confront what lies within; she must look to her marriage partner and reach out, despite their issues; and finally, she might decide that, to spare her beloved, the secrets must stay hidden.
Margaret and Roger Munson, Maura's parents, are also struck by the pain and grief, and while trying to help Maura, must deal with their own marital strains. Roger's career trajectory seems to have stalled, and Margaret's role as a help meet is tested by Roger's errors in judgment.
I liked these thoughts at the end of "Those We Love Most":
"...the loss had, in the end, become their terrible unifier, the thing that had strengthened and cauterized them."
Looking at pain and loss as a means to finally heal leaves the stricken with a ray of hope. Just as the richly detailed characters left me, as a reader, feeling as though I had felt some of their pain and come to know the issues with which they struggled.
Sometimes the story bogged down with detail and angst, but in general, this four star read kept me moving along and hoping for these characters to find their way.
September 15, 2012
Those We Love Most is an entertaining novel filled with family secrets, dysfunction, illness and death. The story starts out with Maura, who watches her son James get run over and is not able to do anything to stop it. She is tortured. Her marriage is in trouble as her husband Pete is drinking excessively. The only place she can think of to gofor help is outside the parameters of her marriage and that would only make things worse.
Margaret is Maura's mother and she is married to Roger. She knows that Roger is having an affair but she tries to keep a stiff upper lip and not let others know her pain. Julia is Roger's girlfriend and he spends more and more time in Tampa, Florida visiting her. He is having memory problems - forgetting words and sentences but he won't go to the doctor. His resistance to medical care leads to tragedy.
This book shows how adversity makes us stronger and helps us to become the people we want to be. Gradually, with a tincture of time, Margaret and Maura grow, each leaning on the other for sustenance.
The author has written non-fiction previously but this is her first book of fiction. Her first book, In an Instant, was co-written with her correspondent husband, Bob Woodruff who received serious injuries in the mid-east several years agol
Comment
Margaret is Maura's mother and she is married to Roger. She knows that Roger is having an affair but she tries to keep a stiff upper lip and not let others know her pain. Julia is Roger's girlfriend and he spends more and more time in Tampa, Florida visiting her. He is having memory problems - forgetting words and sentences but he won't go to the doctor. His resistance to medical care leads to tragedy.
This book shows how adversity makes us stronger and helps us to become the people we want to be. Gradually, with a tincture of time, Margaret and Maura grow, each leaning on the other for sustenance.
The author has written non-fiction previously but this is her first book of fiction. Her first book, In an Instant, was co-written with her correspondent husband, Bob Woodruff who received serious injuries in the mid-east several years agol
Comment
March 21, 2013
Author: Lee Woodruff
Published by: Hyperion
Age Recommended: Adult
Reviewed By: Arlena Dean
Book Blog For: GMTA
Rating: 4
Review:
"Those We Love Most" by Lee Woodruff was really a powerful read. This was a read of tragedy not just for one family but a extended family. This was a very realistic read that could happen to any of us...a death of a child. Yes, this novel will be of 'loss, grief, love and two families who are really suffering from it all. We find the mother had been having a affair, while the father was a alcoholic....and the grandfather who was having a affair with the grandma seemed to just take it in as a martyr...What a group of people...Will there be any change? This author did a wonderful job with his detailed dialogue showing much compassion. Who knew that this child's death(James) would charge everything for this family.. breaking them apart but putting them back together again? I found the characters all interesting in that even at the end I am not sure there would be a change for Maura, Roger, Roger,Margaret ...or Julia. Kinda leaves you wondering long after the read.
Did I find "Those We Love Most" a page turner?...Yes...it was a dramatic experience to read. Would I recommend?....YES!
Published by: Hyperion
Age Recommended: Adult
Reviewed By: Arlena Dean
Book Blog For: GMTA
Rating: 4
Review:
"Those We Love Most" by Lee Woodruff was really a powerful read. This was a read of tragedy not just for one family but a extended family. This was a very realistic read that could happen to any of us...a death of a child. Yes, this novel will be of 'loss, grief, love and two families who are really suffering from it all. We find the mother had been having a affair, while the father was a alcoholic....and the grandfather who was having a affair with the grandma seemed to just take it in as a martyr...What a group of people...Will there be any change? This author did a wonderful job with his detailed dialogue showing much compassion. Who knew that this child's death(James) would charge everything for this family.. breaking them apart but putting them back together again? I found the characters all interesting in that even at the end I am not sure there would be a change for Maura, Roger, Roger,Margaret ...or Julia. Kinda leaves you wondering long after the read.
Did I find "Those We Love Most" a page turner?...Yes...it was a dramatic experience to read. Would I recommend?....YES!
August 5, 2012
I love literary fiction. There is something so satisfying about the beautiful writing stitched along a complex, emotional plot. This book is a wonderful example of this genre.
This is, of course, a character-driven book much more than a plot-driven one, though this does not mean there isn’t a good structure around the lovely writing. In this case, it’s seeing how an entire family falls apart and recovers from the death of one of its members. There is always a danger with these kinds of books of getting a bit melodramatic, but this one managed to avoid that very well. The characters respond to their grief in very real, believable ways. There is no melodrama, just real-life suffering.
The writing is lush and intimate despite the book being written in third person. It was also quite interesting to see the author attempt different characters’ voices. Some of them worked, others not so much. Sometimes one sounded like the others. But that’s being picky, I suppose, when the rest is so nicely done.
If you like literary fiction, if you like lovely stories (though this one is a sad one), then I do recommend this book. I, for one, will be looking for this author’s future books.
This is, of course, a character-driven book much more than a plot-driven one, though this does not mean there isn’t a good structure around the lovely writing. In this case, it’s seeing how an entire family falls apart and recovers from the death of one of its members. There is always a danger with these kinds of books of getting a bit melodramatic, but this one managed to avoid that very well. The characters respond to their grief in very real, believable ways. There is no melodrama, just real-life suffering.
The writing is lush and intimate despite the book being written in third person. It was also quite interesting to see the author attempt different characters’ voices. Some of them worked, others not so much. Sometimes one sounded like the others. But that’s being picky, I suppose, when the rest is so nicely done.
If you like literary fiction, if you like lovely stories (though this one is a sad one), then I do recommend this book. I, for one, will be looking for this author’s future books.
October 24, 2012
Just received a free copy of this book from the publisher (first-reads promotion). I'm just a few pages in, but so far so good! =====>
So I finished this about a week ago and I decided to wait to write my review because I couldn't decide if I liked it. Turns out I didn't. In fact, it made me crazy. While the writing was good, I really didn't like the story line. I just couldn't get excited about a book full of super selfish people who suddenly find themselves completely unprepared to deal with a huge tragedy. Their most important relationships have been neglected for too long so they don't have the support they need at a crucial time which made it WAY harder to deal with as a result. So here's the deal. Strengthen your family while times are good. Relationships based on lies and deception will crumble in adversity; besides, the guilt and the 'what ifs' will torment you. You need your family when hard times come. And for heaven's sake, when you finally come to your senses and realize you need to end your extra-marital affair, just end it. It's super shallow to hope for one last hoorah before you deliver the crushing blow. Seriously.
So I finished this about a week ago and I decided to wait to write my review because I couldn't decide if I liked it. Turns out I didn't. In fact, it made me crazy. While the writing was good, I really didn't like the story line. I just couldn't get excited about a book full of super selfish people who suddenly find themselves completely unprepared to deal with a huge tragedy. Their most important relationships have been neglected for too long so they don't have the support they need at a crucial time which made it WAY harder to deal with as a result. So here's the deal. Strengthen your family while times are good. Relationships based on lies and deception will crumble in adversity; besides, the guilt and the 'what ifs' will torment you. You need your family when hard times come. And for heaven's sake, when you finally come to your senses and realize you need to end your extra-marital affair, just end it. It's super shallow to hope for one last hoorah before you deliver the crushing blow. Seriously.
August 28, 2012
This story begins with the sudden death of a boy named James. It focuses mainly on James’ parents and grandparents’ lives in the year following this tragedy. I thought the characters could easily be someone I know, real and believable. They are people who re-examine some of their bad decisions in the wake of this accident. As they move through the grieving process, we see them change and grow. The author’s own emotional journey when dealing with her husband’s traumatic brain injury has given her a strong perspective into the psychology of people. She is spot on when writing about the range of emotions when someone we love is taken away and the journey that ultimately leads to forgiveness and healing, each person's experience unique in picking up the pieces.
September 13, 2012
I received a copy of this book from Adriana Trigiani as an advanced review copy, and I enjoyed the story. This is a quiet book, not a book that leaves you ripping through the pages, but rather a book that touches you in a quieter fashion, tweaking your fears and insecurities enough that it whispers for you to keep reading. This is a story of what seems like a perfect family from the outside, yet each member is living with their own secrets and inner turmoil, and their ability to climb out of life's tragedies as they are handed to them and find the good in what they had. The characters are vivid and the pain feels real. I'm trying not to spoil the plot by revealing details, but if you like literary fiction, you will probably enjoy this book.
September 9, 2012
My Thoughts
The author did a excellent job of writing a story about loss, grief, love and family. I liked the way we get to know the four main characters in depth. Not only do they have to deal with a tragic event, but each has private issues to overcome. While the basis of the story involves sadness, ultimately it is about faith and perseverance.
Ms. Woodruff’s writing style is detailed and eloquent. While I have not read any of her non-fiction books, I thought this was a good first endeavor into the world of literary fiction.
Thank you to Hyperion and Netgalley for allowing me to read this in exchange for an unbiased review.
Publish date: September 11, 2012
The author did a excellent job of writing a story about loss, grief, love and family. I liked the way we get to know the four main characters in depth. Not only do they have to deal with a tragic event, but each has private issues to overcome. While the basis of the story involves sadness, ultimately it is about faith and perseverance.
Ms. Woodruff’s writing style is detailed and eloquent. While I have not read any of her non-fiction books, I thought this was a good first endeavor into the world of literary fiction.
Thank you to Hyperion and Netgalley for allowing me to read this in exchange for an unbiased review.
Publish date: September 11, 2012
July 8, 2012
I read the pre-release of this - she expresses the feelings of grief, loss, guilt and fear very well - One can really grasp the enormity of these emotions after reading the book. I am curious what made her write to this topic and how she developed such insight. Looking forward to her visit to SCPL later this year.
June 30, 2022
I think I would love this very much when I reach my 30s which is decades ahead. But I love how real this book made me feel. It didn’t at all feel fictitious, and I think that’s somehow edifying.
October 26, 2018
Realistic and well-written. Sometimes hard to read (because of the content, not the writing). I enjoyed it and it made me reflect in my life and relationships - past, present and future.
August 22, 2013
Married to her college sweetheart, Pete, raising three young kids with her parents nearby in her peaceful Chicago suburb, her world is secure. Then one day, in a single turn of fate, that entire world comes crashing down and everything that she thought she knew changes. Maura must learn to move forward with the weight of grief and the crushing guilt of an unforgivable secret. Pete senses a gap growing between him and his wife but finds it easier to escape to the bar with his friends than face the flaws in his marriage. Meanwhile, Maura's parents are dealing with the fault lines in their own marriage. Charismatic Roger, who at sixty-five, is still chasing the next business deal and Margaret, a pragmatic and proud homemaker, have been married for four decades, seemingly happily. But the truth is more complicated. Like Maura, Roger has secrets of his own and when his deceptions and weaknesses are exposed, Margaret's love and loyalty face the ultimate test. Those We Love Most chronicles how these unforgettable characters confront their choices, examine their mistakes, fight for their most valuable relationships, and ultimately find their way back to each other. It takes us deep into the heart of what makes families and marriages tick and explores a fundamental question: when the ties that bind us to those we love are strained or broken, how do we pick up the pieces?” This plot line had a lot of potential, but I felt like the author failed to reach it. There wasn’t a lot of relatable emotion in the characters. There were a few relationships that I found interesting, but overall the book was lacking for me in a lot of ways.
September 15, 2012
The novel centers around Maura, her husband Pete and her parents, Margaret and Roger. Neither marriage is as strong as it could be, but both are going along more or less fine. And then something horrible happens (I will say what in my review, because I think it's important for some to know what that is, as it could be a trigger event) and all four of them are tested in ways they wouldn't have thought possible.
In an interview in the back of the book, Lee Woodruff says that the book isn't so much about tragedy as it is how people tend to move on from said tragedy. It's not about sadness and grief; it's about resiliency.
Maura is out with her kids when her oldest son is hit by a car and later dies. I don't generally like to do spoilers, but I have friends who should know that this is a book where the kid dies. It's also important to know that what I said above, about this being a book about resiliency, is true. This is not a wallowing book. Of course, it's not like everyone is fine two chapters later. It shows what this event does to a marriage and what it does to a parent and grandparent. But it also shows that they go on. Because you have to; you can't NOT go on.
This was compared to Anna Quindlen and I don't think Lee Woodruff is there yet. But this is still incredibly good and emotionally honest. It would have been very easy for this to become a Lifetime movie and she never let it get there.
Recommended.
In an interview in the back of the book, Lee Woodruff says that the book isn't so much about tragedy as it is how people tend to move on from said tragedy. It's not about sadness and grief; it's about resiliency.
Maura is out with her kids when her oldest son is hit by a car and later dies. I don't generally like to do spoilers, but I have friends who should know that this is a book where the kid dies. It's also important to know that what I said above, about this being a book about resiliency, is true. This is not a wallowing book. Of course, it's not like everyone is fine two chapters later. It shows what this event does to a marriage and what it does to a parent and grandparent. But it also shows that they go on. Because you have to; you can't NOT go on.
This was compared to Anna Quindlen and I don't think Lee Woodruff is there yet. But this is still incredibly good and emotionally honest. It would have been very easy for this to become a Lifetime movie and she never let it get there.
Recommended.
November 22, 2012
The complexities of family life are expertly explored in this emotional story which focuses primarily on a family tragedy and then on the aftermath of coping with immense loss. The poignant vulnerability of each family member is heartbreaking to witness and yet the strength of purpose demonstrated by some of the central characters is both poignant and uplifting. From the beginning it is evident that this family at the heart of the story could quite simply be any family, defenceless, scared and utterly overwhelmed by disaster, each of them coping in very different ways. However, throughout the novel, it is reiterated that mostly we are stronger together than apart and even though some of the characters don’t always act in a likeable way, there is always a strong sense of ‘family’.
Those We Love The Most is not an easy book to read, there are some sections which tug at the heartstrings and make for emotional reading. However, it is obvious that Lee Woodruff enjoys writing, her skill is evident in every word and whilst there is a recognisable vulnerability in her characterisation, she also has the unique ability to engage with her readers on an emotional level.
My thanks to NetGalley and Hyperion for digital edition of this book.
Those We Love The Most is not an easy book to read, there are some sections which tug at the heartstrings and make for emotional reading. However, it is obvious that Lee Woodruff enjoys writing, her skill is evident in every word and whilst there is a recognisable vulnerability in her characterisation, she also has the unique ability to engage with her readers on an emotional level.
My thanks to NetGalley and Hyperion for digital edition of this book.
August 27, 2015
When I want to read something with a good story, or good writing, I do try to go for fiction. Not that other genres do not have this, of course they do, but lit fic is just different from the other books I read.
And here it was sad, and made you think...
Maura is walking her kids to school when she looks away for a sec and her son dies in a traffic accident. She blames her self, and she is drifting away from her husband. Her husband Pete who drinks too much, and later drinks even more to drown his own sorrow. Can they ever find their way back to each other.
Then we have her parents, Margaret who is happy at home, and her husband Roger who works a lot and is seeing someone on the side. Margaret was old school who held her tongue and wanted things to look perfect. I could not have done that if I was her. Sure they still loved each other but still..
There are different ways to deal with sorrow, different ways to moving on. The book is not all SAD. Sure it was sad when it happens, but the book is not about death, but about coping with it. And about love, and forgiveness.
I enjoyed it.
And here it was sad, and made you think...
Maura is walking her kids to school when she looks away for a sec and her son dies in a traffic accident. She blames her self, and she is drifting away from her husband. Her husband Pete who drinks too much, and later drinks even more to drown his own sorrow. Can they ever find their way back to each other.
Then we have her parents, Margaret who is happy at home, and her husband Roger who works a lot and is seeing someone on the side. Margaret was old school who held her tongue and wanted things to look perfect. I could not have done that if I was her. Sure they still loved each other but still..
There are different ways to deal with sorrow, different ways to moving on. The book is not all SAD. Sure it was sad when it happens, but the book is not about death, but about coping with it. And about love, and forgiveness.
I enjoyed it.
September 13, 2012
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Those We Love Most is every parent's worst nightmare come to life. Lee Woodruff has written such a realistic novel that it will make your heart skip a beat in several instances. As we follow Maura and her family you see that neither her marriage nor her parents are as strong as they lead everyone to believe. I really like how the author made her characters flawed, it just added to the authenticity of the story. I also really enjoyed how she included the boy behind the wheel throughout the whole story, it added that extra something that really touched my heart.
Bottom line, Those We Love The Most, is a dramatic read. The subject matter alone makes it a tough read, but it is most definitely worth the read. The characters are so intricately drawn and the story so well written that you can not help but be pulled into the world of this family. I really enjoyed Those We Loved Most and I look forward to reading more fiction by Lee Woodruff.
Those We Love Most is every parent's worst nightmare come to life. Lee Woodruff has written such a realistic novel that it will make your heart skip a beat in several instances. As we follow Maura and her family you see that neither her marriage nor her parents are as strong as they lead everyone to believe. I really like how the author made her characters flawed, it just added to the authenticity of the story. I also really enjoyed how she included the boy behind the wheel throughout the whole story, it added that extra something that really touched my heart.
Bottom line, Those We Love The Most, is a dramatic read. The subject matter alone makes it a tough read, but it is most definitely worth the read. The characters are so intricately drawn and the story so well written that you can not help but be pulled into the world of this family. I really enjoyed Those We Loved Most and I look forward to reading more fiction by Lee Woodruff.
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