This Funny Life

by Amy Fillion

“We never know, do we? We never know how many days we’ll be given or how we’ll go. There are no guarantees. Only hopes and dreams.”

An infant is left on the doorstep of Saint Michael’s Orphanage in the winter of 1936 with only an engraved medallion to mark his identity.

Marvin Saint Michael grows up under the watchful gaze of the nuns and priests, yet his upbringing is anything but loving. Marvin learns from an early age to keep his mouth shut, to obey, and to refrain from questioning the authority figures that surround him. For when one disobeys, severe repercussions are handed out…

When Marvin is fourteen years old, a girl enters Saint Michael’s after a tragic accident took the lives of her parents. Eva Murphy captivates him. She isn’t like any other girl that Marvin has ever met. He is irrevocably drawn to her, and after mere moments with her at his side, Marvin knows his life is about to change.

Then chaos breaks out at Saint Michael’s, and Eva is thrust into the middle of it. Marvin knows he and Eva must escape the confines of the orphanage before it’s too late. But where have the nuns brought Eva? How will he find her? And if they succeed in breaking free, can they possibly make their way in the world with only the clothes on their backs… and each other?

Spanning seven decades, This Funny Life is a tale of courage, resilience, and hope. And at its core, it is a story of forgiveness and acceptance of one's past actions that altered the course of not only Marvin's life but also the lives of those he loved.

Genres: Historical Fiction, Fiction, Coming Of Age

328 pages, Paperback

First published January 3, 2024

About the author

Amy Fillion is the author of both adult and children's fiction. She is raising three energetic boys in New Hampshire with her husband, attempting not to become too annoyed with her three unruly rescue cats, and immensely enjoying cuddles from her rescue dog. She worked in the field of early intervention after graduating from the University of New Hampshire with a degree in psychology. She then left that job to stay home with her growing children.

She loves discussing books with friends, the smell of coffee brewing, reading outdoors in the warmer months, and elephants.

She also loves to hear from readers. You can find her at www.amyfillion.com.

Reviews

[Edie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Beautiful story

I have reached my Golden Years, this is such a moving story I can identify with the characters so easily now!
As we age life does take interesting turns whichbecome wonderful memories, or sad occurrences. We are not guaranteed tomorrow, so give it your absolute best every day, you never no how your actions can and do change so many others! Smile frequently and always be kind, it can work miracles!💖

[Lynne Block · Rating 2 out of 5]

I only give this a 2 because much of the plot was trite and predictable, but it does give pause to think about growing up with no history, no family, no identity, no last name, no warmth, no hugs, no “atta-boys”… from day 1 !!

[Elaine · Rating 5 out of 5]

I wish I could give 10 stars

Another fabulous book from Amy, one I will always remember. And I was pleased that my name was the same as the character in this book. I hope there are more books from this amazing author

[Sally · Rating 5 out of 5]

oh my!!!

I am here of course crying my eyes out…. The hell that these people went through… beautiful hopeful story…there is evil in this world and goodness always out weighs the bad

[Larry Coulson · Rating 5 out of 5]

So good!

Just when I thought her books 📚 couldn't get any better.... WOW sucked in from the beginning. What statlrted as a sad, tragic story. Weaves it's way through the decades with decisions, adventures, sadness... suprise ending... what a story!

[Christine Carbone · Rating 4 out of 5]

The book spans 70 or so years. An orphanage, love, escape, heartbreak, trust, love again, and then knowledge of family. The story felt simple (yet stilted) sad and heartwarming. Very good read.

[Pat Sparks · Rating 5 out of 5]

Emotional!

I was drawn to the main characters right from the beginning. Walking through life with Marvin was truly an emotional journey. I felt his pain, his sorrow and his love every step of the way. Love and loss, guilt and sorrow, joy and regret, even his need to forgive himself, touched my heart.
I often get caught up in my books, but this one embedded itself into my very heart and soul. If you're looking for a well developed story of a life journey, yoh need to read this book.

[Pamela J. Frigot · Rating 5 out of 5]

An odd title for a story where the main character lived through some harrowing experiences. But as another character described their lives as funny, in a 'crazy how things unfold' kind of way, it does make some sense. That said, it's a very moving story that flows well, having grabbed my attention from the very first sentence. While there's some heartbreaking situations, there's also an abundance of love along the way, reflecting the complexities and optimism of human nature.

[Reader · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this book. Since I am 68 I could totally identify with the characters. I couldn't put this book down. I recommend this book for everyone to read. It talks about an orphan's life from beginning to end. It really makes you grateful to be alive!

[Gary · Rating 1 out of 5]

I’ve come to the conclusion that this woman is a truly mediocre writer—one that I cannot read without skimming and being frustrated.

Her style of writing is to fill page after page with redundancy (perhaps she used to run the department of redundancy department). What a concise author would write in a half page takes Amy Fillion 3+ pages. She hits the reader over the head many, many times with the same information, perhaps thinking that we’re too stupid to get it, and we need our noses ground in what she’s trying to express. Well, I’m not stupid.

Her style of writing is also disjointed and illogical. She will spend many, many pages on minutia we do NOT need, then jump ahead to some future time.

She needs a good editor, because it’s evident that she’s not up to the task. I made it halfway through this book and wish I’d given up sooner. Catherine Ryan Hyde she is not, though she seems to want to write in the same genre.

I’d give her a half star if I could. Amazon needs to find better writers than her to fill its stable.

[Libby · Rating 2 out of 5]

I took a few notes as I read:

A self-published novel that could definitely have used some professional editing assistance. A few annoying typos, including extra exclamation marks. Forced eloquence, felt like an overuse of the thesaurus to attempt to be literary. And it feels unnatural and novice.

Example of something a professional copy editor could have assisted with: the words “ensued” and “ensuing” used multiple times within a few paragraphs.

The word “Proceeded” was also overused.

Cliche orphanage story

I think I learned my lesson with self-published books. I’m only allowed to buy Emma Lion series!

DNF at page 60, too forced.

[Nana · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a funny book. Not haha funny but rather funny in the sense of how the story developed. I admit I almost quite but decided to perserver and am glad I did. It's interesting to read about life and view it through the eyes of the characters. In this case as Marvin grows older the views change and become personal...at least for me. In one particular incident I cried and found it to be almost too much. The reality of life is just that. In the end, I'm glad I completed the book.

[Brenda D. Bowden · Rating 5 out of 5]

Trials and tribulations throughout the plot.

My heart was saddened and angered at how the main character was treated at the orphanage but couldn't quite understand how he could abandon the baby from the love of his life. How could he let history repeat itself?
But in the end, I don't understand all things, and it did work out.
I would recommend this book.

[Laura Watkins · Rating 3 out of 5]

A Novel About Creating Lives and Discovering Family

This novel traces the lives of a couple who found each other at an orphanage. The story follows them through life; and finally reconnects family members.

[Joan mooney · Rating 4 out of 5]

ripples

This is a strange book to read Terrible, cruel, and at times heartbreaking. It also introduces intense kindness I don’t know how to explain this book. I know these things happened. I’ve news reports of such. But it’s almost fantasy to me.

[Joni Fischenich · Rating 4 out of 5]

Sucked me in

I wasn’t sure I liked this book at first. Especially the dialogue which felt a bit simplistic. However by the second part of the book, I was angry at the protagonist and later cried for him. It sucked me in.

[Michelle Irwin · Rating 5 out of 5]

Life

It really is funny how life is and how things that happen change the path we're on. You pretty much go through a good mans life in this book. Brings you to tears several times, but it's at the very end that the dam breaks. Good book!

[Amy DePietro · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book felt like it lacked depth to me, maybe because I didn't feel a connection with the characters. It also felt like for the time period, the book was not realistically written, I don't have any examples to back that feeling up though

[Ryan Maugeri · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is story of one man's life, starting out in an orphanage and spanning over 80 years of love and loss. The sediment I took away after reading it was that you never know where life will take you. Also, you need to recognize and appreciate the blessings along its journey.

[Deloris Brinks · Rating 5 out of 5]

What an amazing story of life's journey.

I loves this story of how it began and the journey that took place with the unknown and hard experiences. To come around to and end as surprising and heartwarming as this one was wonderful.

[Tracie Hogan · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book was a 3.5 for me. I liked the characters but the book got a little boring and predictable towards the middle.
The ending was very unrealistic. It seemed like the author was just tying up the loose ends.

[Gayle Padfield · Rating 5 out of 5]

Exceptional

Amy is an amazing.author. But this one will.stick with me forever. Sadly, I am.sure there are some who suffered at the.hands of religious in orphanages of those days and I.am severely distressed about that possibility.

[Mary Thatcher · Rating 5 out of 5]

Emotional, sad, happy

I loved reading about Marvin. From a young age to his age of 82. It's remarkable how we live our lives and remember mistakes, but also realize... You were young and not much guidance and have to forgive yourself.

[Linda · Rating 4 out of 5]

I did enjoy this book and especially the first half.........the rest was a little slow, but it was a book that took you through someone's life as he aged. It was a good read and I enjoyed Amy's perspective on life!

[Karen Help · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wonderful Read

I was hooked from the beginning. There was so much
to love about these characters, and so much to despise about others. People who are cruel just make my blood boil!! Loved the ending, it wrapped things up perfectly.

[Amy Fillion · Rating 5 out of 5]

It's here! I'm so pleased to be able to share This Funny Life with you.

[Margaret Keough Collier · Rating 5 out of 5]

Heart-wrenching and memorable. Altogether lovely.

[annette day · Rating 5 out of 5]

awesome!

The story, the characters, the writing! Oh my, a great read, all around! Well done. I couldn’t wait to see how it would end and it was beyond my expectations.

[Chelsea Snow · Rating 4 out of 5]

Such a heartwarming read...I felt so many feelings so many times throughout this book.

[patricia smither · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fast moving, mostly.

Was interesting and fast pace. Did drag a bit at the end. Did not like the ending. Would recommend to older people