Barefoot Tango

by Tabitha Ormiston-Smith

For Patricia Wells, widowed at forty-two, life is over. After the sudden death of her husband, losing their dog is the final straw, and she seeks oblivion in a bottle of sleeping pills. But hope can bloom in the most surprising places, and Patricia finds her life is not over yet.

275 pages, Kindle Edition

Published November 4, 2023

Reviews

[Karen Eisenbrey · Rating 4 out of 5]

This touching tale gets at the mundanity of grief and the importance of friendship and collaboration for mental health and a satisfying life.

Middle-aged homemaker Patricia is knocked off her sure foundation when she is suddenly and unexpectedly widowed. The death of her dog soon after turns grief into depression, and she lands in a psychiatric ward after an apparent suicide attempt. An impromptu tango dance with another patient reminds her that joy is possible, and leads to dance lessons for all the patients on the ward. It’s doing everyone good … until the administrator insists on a rule about no physical contact between patients.

The way Patricia’s grief pops up in the middle of ordinary activities and leaves her hopeless felt so real and relatable. The miscommunication between her and her psychiatrist was funny and frustrating. Some of the minor characters seemed kind of one-note, though it makes some sense that it was how Patricia saw them. I loved the little resistance movement that grew up among the patients when their dancing was taken from them. And Patricia’s eventual resolution was a wonderful surprise while completely in character.

[Joseph Picard · Rating 5 out of 5]

Barefoot Tango is a journey of hope and recovery in the wake of the loss of a husband, and a loyal dog. Following an incident involving an overdose, we're brought to a hospital from the perspective of an unwilling patient.

I identified heavily with the dealings with hospital staff, systemic procedure, and other patients of different backgrounds, but similar circumstances. My own hospital experiences have been dealing with a major spinal injury, and later in life with multiple sclerosis, but the feeling of being trapped in a facility for an extended period of time, with an unclear date for freedom, rang very familiar.

Tabitha’s writing always showcases the highs and lows of the human experience, and Barefoot Tango shows compassion and friendship being built in the wake of, and in defiance of, tragedies and injustices.

[Fiona Meyrick · Rating 5 out of 5]

I found this book to be an absolute tonic to read. Exceptionally well researched it takes you through the extremes of human pain and brings you out the other side of it with people all sharing that depth of pain in different ways, and helping each other into a better place through the sheer pleasure of music and dancing.
The characters are beautifully woven into a sense of camarderie led by Jose and Patricia as they open up the others to the world of dance.
Here is seen people of different backgrounds, all with similar problems, severe pain, uniting and working together.
I cannot recommend this book highly enough. It has refreshed my faith in human nature.

[E.R. Yatscoff · Rating 4 out of 5]

Oddly, as a crime writer and reader I enjoyed this. The slow start keeps this from 5 stars but hey, 4 stars is just fine, stick with it. The characters are great and their dynamics are wonderful. It is also a hopeful tale.