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DID I EXPECT ANGELS?
Jennifer Huffaker knows that grief is normal, but she thought she'd get over it-that's what people do. But it's been eighteen months since her husband Jack died, and she still can't focus on her young daughter Kaitlin, can't accept support from her family, and can't allow herself to live without the love of her life. Jennifer is angry at everything and everyone-including herself for being so unprepared. But what did she expect? Angels?On the day after Christmas her anguish finally becomes too much, and Jennifer's pain culminates in a shattering decision. But this is also the night she runs into Henry, an elderly friend from Costa Rica who has seen more of life's trials than anyone could know. Henry realizes the devastating depths to which Jennifer has sunk, and he decides that tonight is the night to tell her his story.Touching and incisive, poignant, and sometimes bitingly funny, both Jennifer's and Henry's stories intermingle into a tale of love, despair, faith and, ultimately, hope, as Jennifer realizes she has been blessed with the most unexpected angel of all
182 pages, Paperback
First published August 24, 2007
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Displaying 1 - 26 of 26 reviews
July 10, 2009
Jennifer Huffaker has been mourning the loss of her husband for quite some time now. Friends & family are tiring of her constant state of depression & inability to raise her daughter "normally". Enough is enough.
Jennifer notices herself that when her daughter is with others, she is full of laughter & smiles like a child should be. She starts to wonder if it's not best to end her own pain and leave Kaitlin with her grandparents, living a normal life again?
Henry is the "greeter" at a local department store she visits often. While they've shared greetings & quick comments, often in his native language, they're far from close friends. But tonight he senses something different & insists that Jennifer join him & his daughter at the diner down the road, promising it will only take a little bit of her time.
Henry shares his life story with Jennifer, explaining the harshness he has seen & showing that he too has felt "loss" above & beyond what one should be able to live with. Suddenly it all becomes clear to her, Henry had sensed what her mission was that night as she was checking out & he was sent to save her from her own desire to stop hurting herself & the ones she loves. He feels her pain, sees her struggle & knows her inner desire to just stop it all. They find too, that they are actually connected from Jennifer's childhood in an amazing way. This man has actually been a part of her life since she was a child & now he's here again, explaining that sometimes life is hard but you must move on. He is proof that it can be done.
Will Henry make a difference or will she realize that her child is better off growing up with people who can bring back normalcy in her life again?
Intense & intimately touching, this book won't let you down. The excellent, easy style of writing from author Kathryn Maughan makes the story flow along so quickly that you don't even realize you've read the book in literally a few short hours. Simply said, it makes one believe that perhaps we should "Expect Angels" when we need them most.
Jennifer notices herself that when her daughter is with others, she is full of laughter & smiles like a child should be. She starts to wonder if it's not best to end her own pain and leave Kaitlin with her grandparents, living a normal life again?
Henry is the "greeter" at a local department store she visits often. While they've shared greetings & quick comments, often in his native language, they're far from close friends. But tonight he senses something different & insists that Jennifer join him & his daughter at the diner down the road, promising it will only take a little bit of her time.
Henry shares his life story with Jennifer, explaining the harshness he has seen & showing that he too has felt "loss" above & beyond what one should be able to live with. Suddenly it all becomes clear to her, Henry had sensed what her mission was that night as she was checking out & he was sent to save her from her own desire to stop hurting herself & the ones she loves. He feels her pain, sees her struggle & knows her inner desire to just stop it all. They find too, that they are actually connected from Jennifer's childhood in an amazing way. This man has actually been a part of her life since she was a child & now he's here again, explaining that sometimes life is hard but you must move on. He is proof that it can be done.
Will Henry make a difference or will she realize that her child is better off growing up with people who can bring back normalcy in her life again?
Intense & intimately touching, this book won't let you down. The excellent, easy style of writing from author Kathryn Maughan makes the story flow along so quickly that you don't even realize you've read the book in literally a few short hours. Simply said, it makes one believe that perhaps we should "Expect Angels" when we need them most.
August 7, 2009
There was a plan in place for Jennifer Huffaker, after more than a year of trying to cope and move on, Jennifer had finally decided what she needed to do to give her daughter a better chance at a happy life. - Henry had lived his life, he’d been handed ups and downs, gone from poverty in Costa Rica to having a good life in New York. Now in his retirement, Henry has taken a job as a greeter at the local discount store. When he sees Jennifer come in late one night, looking more down than normal, he is determined to tell her about all the blessings he has had and still has in his life with the hope of helping her to realize that she too has her own blessing to count and that count on her.
This style of story telling is very unique to me, having Henry tell Jennifer about his life, while she remembers her own, at first it was hard to get into, but after a while the flow is easier to follow. Henry’s life story seems unrelated to Jennifer in the beginning, but soon it does becomes clear why he is taking the time to tell her. As Jennifer remembers her life and her reasons for that nights errand, it builds her as a character that becomes easy to relate to. Everyone who has had a loss goes through some aspect of the grief that Jennifer feels. While her story was easy to relate to, Henry’s story was a more of a chronological accounting of his life and a lot of it seemed unnecessary. Henry’s story was also made a little more difficult to follow because of the use of Spanish words (I know a little, but not enough to allow this part of the story to flow easily). Nearly all the parts of the story pertaining to his time in Costa Rica, while interesting, seemed unrelated to the main plot of saving Jennifer from herself and it took a long time to get to it, then it was over quickly and I felt as if the ending was rushed. The concept that - everyone can be some ones Angel if you care enough to try - is a great one and this is a touching story to help portray that message.
This style of story telling is very unique to me, having Henry tell Jennifer about his life, while she remembers her own, at first it was hard to get into, but after a while the flow is easier to follow. Henry’s life story seems unrelated to Jennifer in the beginning, but soon it does becomes clear why he is taking the time to tell her. As Jennifer remembers her life and her reasons for that nights errand, it builds her as a character that becomes easy to relate to. Everyone who has had a loss goes through some aspect of the grief that Jennifer feels. While her story was easy to relate to, Henry’s story was a more of a chronological accounting of his life and a lot of it seemed unnecessary. Henry’s story was also made a little more difficult to follow because of the use of Spanish words (I know a little, but not enough to allow this part of the story to flow easily). Nearly all the parts of the story pertaining to his time in Costa Rica, while interesting, seemed unrelated to the main plot of saving Jennifer from herself and it took a long time to get to it, then it was over quickly and I felt as if the ending was rushed. The concept that - everyone can be some ones Angel if you care enough to try - is a great one and this is a touching story to help portray that message.
January 1, 2016
Everyone deals with grief in their own way and in the novel "Did I Expect Angels?" Jennifer Huffaker is drowning in her grief for her husband. It's been eighteen months since his death and she still has a hard time getting out of bed and taking care of her young daughter, Kaitlin. On the day after Christmas she finally makes a drastic decision and heads to the local discount store to buy the supplies she needs. While at the check-out she is spotted by Henry, an elderly friend who works as a greeter, and he knows that now is the time to share his story with her. Jennifer reluctantly goes with Henry to a local diner and as he tells his story, she recalls her own and discovers that angels sometimes show up when you need them the most.
This is a beautifully written story by author, Kathryn Maughan. She manages to tell two stories at the same time in a way that doesn't confuse the reader and keeps the story flowing in a natural progression. That being said, I don't think it was necessary to have Henry's entire story in Italics. I found it to be distracting and it slowed down my reading. I think most readers would be able to follow along just fine with his story in a normal font and it would certainly be easier on the eye sight. Despite this slight irritation I would highly recommend this book as it deals with grief in a realistic way from a relatable point of view. The stories of both characters are interesting and I think everyone can find something familiar in Jennifer and/or Henry and relate in at least some way to the emotion and pain these characters have gone through.
This is a beautifully written story by author, Kathryn Maughan. She manages to tell two stories at the same time in a way that doesn't confuse the reader and keeps the story flowing in a natural progression. That being said, I don't think it was necessary to have Henry's entire story in Italics. I found it to be distracting and it slowed down my reading. I think most readers would be able to follow along just fine with his story in a normal font and it would certainly be easier on the eye sight. Despite this slight irritation I would highly recommend this book as it deals with grief in a realistic way from a relatable point of view. The stories of both characters are interesting and I think everyone can find something familiar in Jennifer and/or Henry and relate in at least some way to the emotion and pain these characters have gone through.
February 13, 2010
In Kathryn Maughan's "DId I Expect Angels?" readers are shown how immensely grief can affect those left behind. Maughan intertwines the stories of Jennifer Huffaker, a young widow, and Henry, a greeter at a grocery store Jennifer frequents. Henry is an immigrant from Costa Rica who has lived in the U.S. for 40 years.
Readers first meet Jennifer the day after Christmas as she is trying to buy enough aspirin to kill herself. Jennifer's husband, Jack, died in a car accident 18 months earlier. Her grief does not subside and affects not only herself, but also the lives of her young daughter and the rest of her family.
Henry, seeing how much pain Jennifer is in, takes her from the store to a little restaurant to share his story of leaving Costa Rica and coming to the U.S. While Henry tells his story, Jennifer is reliving her past.
Maughan's touching story will make readers laugh and cry. I'm tearing up now just remembering it! Henry reminded me of Ugly Betty's father. What an angel he turns out to be! Love, perseverance, hard work, faith and hope are all part of Henry's story. He passes his experience on to Jennifer at a time she really needs to hear it. I like to think he is passing it on to me, too. I highly recommend "Did I Expect Angels?" and hope to read more of Maughan's work.
Readers first meet Jennifer the day after Christmas as she is trying to buy enough aspirin to kill herself. Jennifer's husband, Jack, died in a car accident 18 months earlier. Her grief does not subside and affects not only herself, but also the lives of her young daughter and the rest of her family.
Henry, seeing how much pain Jennifer is in, takes her from the store to a little restaurant to share his story of leaving Costa Rica and coming to the U.S. While Henry tells his story, Jennifer is reliving her past.
Maughan's touching story will make readers laugh and cry. I'm tearing up now just remembering it! Henry reminded me of Ugly Betty's father. What an angel he turns out to be! Love, perseverance, hard work, faith and hope are all part of Henry's story. He passes his experience on to Jennifer at a time she really needs to hear it. I like to think he is passing it on to me, too. I highly recommend "Did I Expect Angels?" and hope to read more of Maughan's work.
December 18, 2012
I don't know any other way to say it - - I just did not like this book. I found it trite, predictable and (I'm sorry!) simplistic. I think it all boils down to Jennifer, the main character. I just found her to be shallow, whiney and .... well .... self-absorbed. Therefore I just could not develop any understanding or sympathy. The description of her downward spiral was laborious, overly-detailed and repetitive - - I found myself pleading, "Please, get on with the story!" The other possibility is that Jennifer is actually suffering from clinical depression, in which case her sudden "healing" at the end of the story is a little scary - - this is someone who needs counseling and perhaps medication. Without help, what will she do when the next crisis comes along? I didn't like the husband either - - he was self-absorbed, too, and really not such a great husband or father. I did enjoy the parts told by Henry, the Costa Rican gentleman who saves Jennifer's life by telling her his story of emotional survival. I really enjoyed the mixed Spanish/English storytelling style and the lilting flow of the narrative - - very enjoyable to read. Overall ..... just not my kind of book, I guess!
February 3, 2013
Did I Expect Angels? by Kathryn Maughan is the story of two lives torn apart, then brought back together with strength and courage. Jennifer Huffaker's plan to commit suicide after the tragic death of her husband is derailed by a well-meaning and wise angel, in the form of a immigrant from Costa Rica. Henry has had his own tragedies, and it is his story that makes this book so compelling. The characters are extremely well developed and the plot is unraveled by alternating Jennifer's story with Henry's. Its a very effective way of getting the reader involved and engaged with the unfolding of events. I really enjoyed Henry's language as it is written, a mixture of Spanish and broken English. The ending is predictable but satisfying. The emphasis on understanding and helping others, being an Angel to someone makes this book truly worthwhile. I am very honored to have received a free copy from Goodreads!
November 4, 2016
I'm proud that I made it through this, I wanted to stop when things just stayed dark. It started out fine, with a couple of interesting quirks (the strange goblin toys, and odd sense of sad movies she enjoyed), but I played into it and rejoiced at their seemingly normal lives and budding relationship. Then it got pretty gloomy and some depressive emotions were both happening and felt watching her go through shattering tragedies. The interlinking story of the Puerto Rican's was also full of roller coaster emotions and tragedy. However, this book did teach me to be grateful, understand that we have potential within us, and most importantly that sometimes even more than a friend, it takes a stranger to unlock certain doors that can save us. We can be unexpected angels even if we've experienced great opposition in our lives. Life does not turn out as it seems, and that is okay, we can keep telling ourselves everyday that we can live for others, and that is just fine.
June 4, 2008
I was so excited to read this, and I got it done in just over 24 hours. The story alternates between Jennifer and Henry. Jennifer, a 30-something mom, is at a crisis point in her life when Henry, a store greeter, steps in to help her. Henry has also been through tough times. An immigrant from Costa Rica, Henry has had to start his life from nothing.
I'm being intentionally vague about the plot, only because I love how the story unfolds between the two voices. It is an inspirational story because it reminds us that life is about valuing those we love. I love a book that makes me want to be a better person for having read it.
Did I Expect Angels? is a novel that will stick with me for awhile.
I'm being intentionally vague about the plot, only because I love how the story unfolds between the two voices. It is an inspirational story because it reminds us that life is about valuing those we love. I love a book that makes me want to be a better person for having read it.
Did I Expect Angels? is a novel that will stick with me for awhile.
August 12, 2009
My friend is the author of this book. I bought the book on Amazon to support her effort and was quite impressed by what a good novel she wrote. The book was compelling and kept me turning the pages. I honestly shed a few tears and felt with the character. (Interestingly, I was wondering the whole time who the angel would be due to the title of the book.)
If a book club is interested in reading her book, the author, Kathryn Maughan, says she is happy to call into the book club and answer questions the group has for her. I'm hoping my book club will want to read the book because I think it would be fun to have the actual author be part of the book club. It's so Oprah! (Just do a google search for her website and contact the author.)
If a book club is interested in reading her book, the author, Kathryn Maughan, says she is happy to call into the book club and answer questions the group has for her. I'm hoping my book club will want to read the book because I think it would be fun to have the actual author be part of the book club. It's so Oprah! (Just do a google search for her website and contact the author.)
February 3, 2009
"Did I Expect Angels?" was a pleasure to read from beginning to end. The author intertwines the stories of Jennifer, a young mother dealing with the the loss of her husband, and Henry, an immigrant from Costa Rica, skillfully throughout the book. The story is touching and inspired me to look for ways to better help those around me.
However, I found myself loving this book because of the characters. The author does a fantastic job of infusing her characters with the full range of human emotion which play out as part of this amazing story. I found each character, and their life story, real and memorable. I highly recommend this book to anyone looking for an inspiring well written novel.
However, I found myself loving this book because of the characters. The author does a fantastic job of infusing her characters with the full range of human emotion which play out as part of this amazing story. I found each character, and their life story, real and memorable. I highly recommend this book to anyone looking for an inspiring well written novel.
October 19, 2012
A heart tugging, compelling book! Well written and so real. I felt I knew all the people in the book not long after I started. I'm not sure if I would have bought this book just from reading about it but I won it on goodreads giveaway and I'm so glad I did! There was so much sadness and I just wasn't sure there was any way to get through all that pain. It takes time and slogging through many emotions....and just getting on with it because there's no other real choice. My favorite character was Henry. So strong and brave. Sarah was a close second. But, all the characters were well drawn and full of complexities. It's a really good read!
September 11, 2008
We read this book in our book club. It is a great book, very touching story for anyone whom has ever suffered the loss of a loved one. She intertwines 2 life stories, one of a young mother Jennifer from the States and an elderly man Henry, an imigrant from Costa Rica. We were able to speak with the author, Kathryn Maughan via speaker phone during our book review. This is her 1st novel and she was inspired to write this story based on events that unfolded after Sept 11. She is originally from Utah and is now living in New York. I highly recomend this book.
December 2, 2008
I like to load up on Christmas books at the end of the year and just happened to run across this one. It's a thin book, but there are a lot of words on those pages and I thought I wasn't going to make it to the end. It starts off slow, going back and forth between two stories, without a visible point to it.
But I'm glad I kept going. This is one of those books that makes you think about your own life. Whether you have angels saving you at the most important times, or if you're even worth saving.
The conclusion: Everyone is worth saving.
This book is definitely worth reading.
But I'm glad I kept going. This is one of those books that makes you think about your own life. Whether you have angels saving you at the most important times, or if you're even worth saving.
The conclusion: Everyone is worth saving.
This book is definitely worth reading.
December 18, 2008
The heart string tugging tale of a young mother struggling to deal with the tragic death of her husband. Absolutely loved this book! Kathryn does an amazing job of not only bringing the characters to life, but also making the reader feel as though he were a small part of the lives of the people in the story. I believe this book induced every human emotion I'm capable of feeling through-out as I quickly allowed the characters one by one into my heart and my life. Humor, sadness, love, anger. Its all in there. I would definitely recommend it as must read!
October 11, 2012
When I was lucky enough to win an autographed copy of the book through Goodreads First Reads, I wasn't quite sure of how the story would proceed. There are two separate stories within this book, that of Jennifer, a young widow, and that of Henry, an older man originally from Costa Rica. How their stories intersect is how the book proceeds. Once I started the book, I did not want to put it down! The stories of their lives is well told. Be sure to have tissues handy!
I will definitely look for other books by Kathryn Maughan.
I will definitely look for other books by Kathryn Maughan.
September 8, 2008
We just read this book in August. We had a rare opportunity to speak with the author via speaker phone. She currently lives in New York but is originally from Utah. It was interesting to ask questions about her motivations for certain scenarios and character traits that she wrote about. She said that many of her inspirations came from Sept. 11. It was a very touching book and I would recommend it!
February 14, 2009
It was a fun fast easy read. I liked the characters and the storyline(s). I thought that it ended pretty ubuptly after the two stories merged although I still really liked it.
I'm tempted to give it 5 starts because a friend of mine wrote this book and I think that EVERYONE should read it! GO KATHY!!
I'm tempted to give it 5 starts because a friend of mine wrote this book and I think that EVERYONE should read it! GO KATHY!!
September 22, 2008
Like the main character of this novel, I am a young widow. So I was interested in the author's depiction of grief, coping, and the unexpected angels we meet when we least expect it. The book is touching, poignant, and also funny.
January 31, 2012
I really like this book. It was clean, and had a good message. Not just for those who are suicidal (as the main character is) but for everyone. It's just a good reminder to take inventory of what you DO have rather than what you don't.
September 5, 2012
i won this book from goodreads first-reads. I did like this book and I found the story interesting. I did find Jennifer to be shallow and annoying. I would have liked to understand her better.
September 3, 2008
I loved this book! I stayed up until 2am to finish it. Though the story is melancholy, it left me feeling inspired and so so grateful. I'm looking forward to more books from this author.
September 5, 2008
This author is fantastic. We had our monthly book club meeting last night and she did a phone in to answer our questions. I highly recommend this book.
July 15, 2012
I expected more, the story was good, the characters relatable, grief and depression....it just seemed she was tired of writing and ended it without really completing the story.
Want to read
September 16, 2012I received from Goodreads First Reads:
September 21, 2012
3rd Book I won from Good-Reads! hard for me to get into at first, but now I am getting into it a bit more than when I first started reading it
November 23, 2012
good read for counting your blessings, and getting on with life after a personal lose.
Displaying 1 - 26 of 26 reviews