Stop Talking

by Patti Gaustad Procopi

From the author of Please… Tell Me More comes the highly anticipated sequel!

Finally, Rose has found her soulmate, Jack, and is ready to live her best happily-ever-after life. But tragedy strikes in Alaska, where Rose’s brother and family live, and soon her world is turned upside down… again. Rose and Jack do the only thing they they take their niece, Fern, who has suffered a tremendous loss, home to Virginia.
Fern is adrift, grieving in a strange place with only her wolf-dog for a companion. Her mother is dead and her father is missing. Nothing will ever be the same again, but Rose is doing the best she can for young Fern, even as the temptation of addiction lingers at the edge of her world. Can Fern find her way in this new environment, moving from the wilds of Alaska to the wilds of suburban middle school? And will Rose and Jack survive too, or will they be casualties of an upheaval neither expected?
A deeply moving novel that speaks of the strength of family and the cycle of life, Patti Gaustad Procopi has managed to weave heartfelt emotion into a sweeping family saga that reminds us all of how much we yearn for home.

314 pages, Kindle Edition

Published December 19, 2023

About the author

I am an army brat and so appropriately I was born on an army post. I spent the next 26 years of my life moving around. I moved fifteen times and attended schools on three different continents and college on two.
After graduating from college with a degree in history and literature, I returned to Frankfurt, Germany which was my Father's last duty station. I worked there until I married and moved to Virginia.
I've been pretty stationary since that move though I did move back to Germany for four additional years.
My husband, Greg, and I had three daughters which we raised in a beautiful rural community along with numerous dogs and cats.
I worked for two history museums for 32 years. When not writing I love to garden, do yoga and photograph birds, including the family of Osprey that live on the creek in our back yard. I also volunteer as a raptor rescuer for a wildlife rehab facility.
Life is never dull.

Reviews

[Lisa Franco · Rating 4 out of 5]

I thank the author for providing me with an advance reader's copy in exchange for an honest review.
Stop Talking is the emotional sequel to Patti Procopi’s Please Tell Me More, the story of volatile family relationships, tragedy, loss, and alcoholism. I did not read part one, but this story of siblings Rose, Ivy and William was able to stand on its own. It picks up after another terrible loss for Rose’s family just when she finds true love, and the family dynamics that literally change her life and the life of her new husband. As the family drama progressed through several crises, and each character dealt with their own human flaws, you might think that everything would explode and the family would be shattered. But in the end, all of the sacrifice, guilt, hurt, and frustration beget strength, fortitude and self-forgiveness, and the story comes full circle in a way that sums up the frailties of life, and the way each of us would like to leave it.

[Dana Duplantis · Rating 5 out of 5]

Rose finds her soulmate at a cemetery while visiting family members. She is ready to live happily after life with Jack. When tragedy strikes with Rose's brother William who lives in Alaska her world is soon to be turned upside down. Rose and Jack do the only reasonable thing to take care of their niece Fern. Fern has a tremendous loss and moves to Virginia with Rose and Jack. She is in a strange place and her only companion is her wolf dog . Rose and Jack do the best they can in raising Fern. Fern has to learn to live in a new environment .Fern's attitude changes and she gets into trouble . Can Rose and Jack's survive their marriage? Patti is a new author to me but will not be the last since I loved this book.

[Caterina Novelliere · Rating 5 out of 5]

I always enjoy reading Patti’s books when I want something different from the romance and fantasy genres I normally read. Her characters are relatable and her writing in first person allows you to intimately know them and their motivations. You go through all the emotions as you follow Rose’s on-going journey through life and dealing with addiction along with becoming the guardian of a young teen in her later years. Loved that the book brought things full circle at the end.

Patti does a lovely job intertwining humor in the right places to make you chuckle as you read. She also handles the darker moments of life with tact.

While I know not everyone likes content warnings, sexual assault does play a role in this story for a chapter or two, if that is triggering for you please be prepared to read the aftermath of one and the following court proceedings of the perpetrator who committed the act in this book.

[Sylvia Jacobs · Rating 5 out of 5]

Realistic

Family Drama

Inspirational

Addictive

Satisfying

Great Ending

Book Title: Stop Talking

Author: Patti Gaustad Procopi

Genre: Fiction

Sequel to Please Tell Me More…

Book Reviewed By Sylvia J.

I am so happy that this book titled Stop Talking, is a sequel to the first book Please Tell Me More… The first book was beyond amazing! Now we will begin to talk about book 2 titled, Stop Talking. Firstly, the titles really fit each book perfectly. This book continues the story between two sisters named Rose and Ivy. I am so happy that I can read more about this family. I didn’t think there would be a sequel. This is definitely a nice surprise. This family teaches us how to be strong because they have definitely gone through so much in their lives. Love them or hate them. This is definitely a book to read. It all started with book number one and now it will end with book number two.

Upon opening the book, you will see a poem. I will share with you only a few lines from the poem. You will have to read the book to get to know what the rest of the poem says.
Please stop talking
Give me hope
Give me comfort
Give me time to heal

So much has happened for Rose since she last saw her father at her mother and Lily‘s grave. How time flies. That was already five years ago. Since then she found someone she loves, changed jobs and became sober. Does Rose love Jack? She claims that she began to love him the minute he asked her out for coffee. After the first date with him, if he would’ve proposed to her, she would have agreed to marry him. Was this the man she was waiting for? Was this the man she deserved? Would this be the man she will marry perhaps? If she does marry Jack will she finally be happy? Does Jack feel the same way? Now Rose started thinking otherwise. Jack hadn’t asked for Rose’s phone number after the date. He hadn’t suggested getting together again. Did he only see her as a friend? Rose was now 55 years old and getting close to age 56. Rose was a bit confused.

Rose was not a therapist anymore, she was now a hospice worker. The experience of being with her mother when she passed motivated her to become a hospice worker. She hopes to help her clients achieve what she managed to do with her mother. She wants to help families reconcile, till the end. It is so gratifying to her when it all works out but sometimes it doesn’t.
Rose wants to help and make a difference. Unfortunately, sometimes she has doubts, and becomes very unconfident.

I love reading about Ivy’s dog Fritz, sometimes Rose would watch her sister Ivy’s dog. Fritz is a good listener, but he fails in the advice department. Rose certainly missed Fritz when her sister came to pick the dog up. The reader will wonder why Rose hasn’t got her own dog yet. Her sister certainly wondered why. Rose worried if she got a dog that maybe the person she dates, perhaps, wouldn’t like the dog or perhaps maybe the dog wouldn’t like the person. Ivy felt that her sister made everything so complicated and that she should just get a dog of her own and stop this nonsense.

I give this book a rating of five out of five stars for just its content alone, as there is so much content in this book. We will learn more about William and his family, his wife and his daughter, Fern. Will his daughter Fern stay with him or will something happen that causes her not to be with her family?
Where will Fern end up? Will something bad happen to her?
One will love to read about the dogs the family owned.
Overall, I recommend this book as I feel each sentence flowed right into the other. There isn't a boring moment in the book. It is quite the page turner, one should read it and find out. One will not be disappointed. I feel like the book wrapped up really well and the ending was amazing. Nothing in the book left me hanging. All my questions were answered.

[Renee Simmons · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book broke my heart, warmed my heart, and gave me so much inspiration and courage! Rose, her sister Ivy, and brother William all come from a long line of alcoholics. Rose and her brother are both recovering alcoholics , only Ivy, didn’t have that gene. Rose had almost given up on love until she met Jack at an AA meeting and things moved quickly. Finally married in her 40s, life was amazing, until tragedy strikes….her life will change forever. This book tells the story of a family with many struggles who have to come together as one, to survive this ugly disease, and be there when one decides to pick up that bottle. I definitely recommend it, you will fall in love with each character. Each one has a different personality and a different struggle to overcome.

[Bambi Rathman · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book had my emotions jumping all over the place. What a heart tugging story of a family that drew me in from the first page. I haven't read the first book "Please....Tell Me More" but I had no problem finding myself lost in the pages of this book and not feeling confused in the least bit. Ms. Procopi wove this story with finesse, heartbreak, and lots of family drama.

The author has crafted her characters with amazing detail. Each one is as individual and unique as any I've read. They are written with deep convictions and emotions. I couldn't help but feel for them as the story evolved. She writes them into a story that is dramatic and she places the characters in scenarios that are relevant to the times but she does it with sensitivity. I had my heart yanked apart at certain places in the book and yearned for a resolution that was satisfying to the characters and for me.

This is a story of a famly's love for each other. Through the thick and thin of life's challenges, they stick together. It's not always pretty but it's the right thing to do. This was a great getaway read for me. I want to thank Ms. Procopi for the privilege of reading her very heart wrenching story of ups and downs that life can throw at all of us. All thoughts and opinions in this review are my heartfelt own.

[Barbara Conrey · Rating 5 out of 5]

A sequel to the much loved Please… Tell Me More, Patti Gaustad Procopi’s Stop Talking continues the saga of sisters Rose and Ivy. Beautifully written, the author portrays her character’s flaws and strengths so that her readers cannot help but fall in love with them. Even Thor, the giant wolfdog from Alaska, worked his way into my heart.

Stop Talking is the story of what we do for family, the cruelty of addiction, and the hope for tomorrow.

I received a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

[Janis Daly · Rating 5 out of 5]

When the trials of a fractured family spiral into the depths of overwhelming tragedy and upheaval, oftentimes you reach a breaking point—the moment you want to tell people to just “stop talking”. You can’t bear to hear any more. Grief, loss, and alcoholism complicate the main character, Rose’s emotional turmoil in the face of adversity. Her pain is real, richly drawn by Procopi’s heartfelt prose which captures the essence of a mature protagonist whose ghosts of the past plague her through a deeply moving read.

[Grace Sammon · Rating 4 out of 5]

The latest from Patti Procopi is a compelling and satisfying family drama. She deals head-on with tough issues of tragic loss and the lure of addictive behavior. The story takes us from the wilds and rawness of Alaska to Virginia and back. With the fragile Fern, a wolf-dog, and a family that does its best, readers will find Stop Talking engaging, with some utterly beautiful writing, and a longing for what we may all want - home.

[Judy Lannon · Rating 5 out of 5]

Stop Talking is a book that I couldn't put down. If it wasn't for the interference of "life" I would have finished it in a day, it's that good. I loved Rose and her determination to do the right thing. My heart ached for Fern, and I wondered how Jack was able to handle the twists and turns in his newly married life. Throw in a few dogs and you've got me as a fan!

[Reader · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is a tribute to imperfect families and a testament to the power of those who end generational curses. I so wanted a happier more rose colored sequel, but Patti stayed true to her unique balance between raw unfiltered hurt and hopeful atonement. I highly recommend reading Please Tell Me More first to appreciate the battle this character family has been through!

[Mary Sheriff · Rating 5 out of 5]

This novel is rich with a family of relatable characters who compel readers to turn page after page, cheering alongside them as they fight through addictions and grief to find strength through forgiveness, love, and one another. This powerful story of redemption is a must-read.

[Cindy Freeman · Rating 5 out of 5]

Procopi's novels always manage to hit me in the heart. I laughed. I cried. I felt Rose's joys and griefs as if they were my own. She is a master storyteller of life as it is and life as we wish it was.

[Linda Hallam · Rating 5 out of 5]

I found this book as well as “Please Tell Me More” to be difficult to put down. They are both written well for the characters come alive within them. I cried more than once when worried about the hurdles they sometimes faced. I look forward to reading more books by this author.

[Rachel Robinson · Rating 5 out of 5]

I meant to write this review months ago! This book was wonderful. What a moving sequel. Just like with “Please… Tell Me More,” I could not put this book down. I never stop thinking about either of these books and their incredible and heart-breaking characters. 💙

[Patti Procopi · Rating 4 out of 5]

Full disclosure - I am the author of this book. I recently had to read it again four times for editing to prepare it for publication. Truthfully I enjoyed each read. I don't want to brag but this is a great book! Even if I do say so myself. I laughed and cried each time I read it. If you like books that are heartwarming and heartbreaking while at the same time laugh out loud funny - read this book and then read my others. This is actually the sequel to my first book - Please...Tell Me More - so read that one first if you want to know the whole story. But read them! Thank you all very much!