Good Enough: Based on True Events

by Kerriann Ostlund

Lisa McIntyre is a high school junior trying to survive the everyday stressors of junior year. Secretly a romantic, Lisa is also equally yearning for a relationship. Through an unexpected introduction, Lisa meets Tiegan Carpenter. Handsome, intelligent, ambitious, and brave, Tiegan has all of the qualities that Lisa has been looking for in an ideal partner. Too good to be true, Lisa can’t believe her good fortune in finding her soul mate so early in life. When college becomes the sole focus for both Lisa and Tiegan, their relationship is challenged in ways that were not expected. Tensions run high as the once-power couple faces new obstacles they never thought they would experience. Tiegan quickly starts to change before Lisa's eyes, and Lisa begins to wonder if she ever really knew Tiegan at all. When Lisa begins to question everything she thought she knew about him, she is left with one glaring What will it take to be good enough for him? Poignant, powerful, and glaringly honest, the story of Lisa and Tiegan are based on true events that will make readers wonder what exactly it takes for someone to be “good enough,” if such a thing really even exists at all…

462 pages, Kindle Edition

Published May 15, 2018

Reviews

[J.G. MacLeod · Rating 5 out of 5]

Good Enough is a fast-paced, page-turning memoir by Kerriann Macdonald. I admire this author for her bravery in sharing her personal experiences with mental health, family dynamics, and emotional abuse with readers. This is a topic near and dear to my heart and I hope more people will pick up a copy of this story and then share it with others.

The author begins her book with a personal message to readers, a trigger warning, as well as a brief explanation for why she wrote this book. It is heartbreaking to realize that so many of us have experiences with abuse, but because it isn’t spoken about openly, it continues to plague our societies.

Kerriann hooked me with her honest and open writing style. She does not sugar-coat her experiences, nor does she hide the most significant question of our time: what will it take to feel good enough?

After reading this book, and seeing such similarities in my own life to those the author faced, I can honestly say my daughters need to be taught about self-esteem way earlier than I ever was. The pivotal take away from this book is how imperative it is to break the silence, accept oneself completely, and realize that we are all more than enough just as we are.

I highly recommend this book. More importantly, write a review and end the stigma.

J.G. MacLeod, author

[Jordan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good Enough was hard to read at first as Lisa tried to make her relationship work with Tiegan. For the majority of the book, I wanted to scream at Tiegan, but at other times, he actually seemed nice. I suppose this is what it could be like in an unhealthy relationship—feeling guilty and believing they care even when they don’t. If I could get so emotional reading this book, then I think Kerriann Macdonald did a great job at making the characters come off the page.

I really enjoyed the last few chapters. Things started to change and Flynn came into the picture. He’s probably my favorite out of the whole book. I had no idea the kinds of struggles a person fresh out of a domestic relationship would face in a new relationship. I learned so much from reading this book from signs of an unhealthy relationship to the challenges after.

I would encourage everyone to read Good Enough, which is based on real life. I think everyone would benefit from learning and reading this book.

[Judy Ferrell · Rating 5 out of 5]

Emotional abuse is the hardest.

Throughout this book Kerrigan MacDonald has taken a very hard look at emotional abuse. This book held my interest very much. I started this book at 9:00 A.M. it is now 4:46 P.M. I couldn't put it down till I finished it. I had to know how it ended. I had to know that love won this one time.

[Maryam Qureshi · Rating 5 out of 5]

Kerriann Macdonald’s book Good Enough : Based On True Events is a very well written story. It revolves around the main character, Lisa, a girl with very sensitive mind and soul that withers at every harsh touch of the society around her. She longs for a soulmate that would love and nourish her soul like the touch of tender beams of the spring sun. When the plot of the story moves ahead we see a certain character development in Lisa. On one hand she behaves like a subtle introvert who would like to hide herself behind the icy bars of her skeptical mind and on the other hand we see her as a girl who wants to interact with her class fellows, likes to spend time with her best friends and might be longing for a partner who is ready to love her like her,
‘One and Only’.
Her interaction with the guy Tiegan carpenter doesn’t appear to be a special interaction at first, but
after a few meetings they seem to come in to close contact with each other. Lisa loves Tiegan with
all her heart but she couldn’t be able to resist from suspecting Tiegan’s loyalty for her. Apparently,
they seem to be head over heels in love with each other but they also seem like the two parallel
lines that would never meet in this world.
All the time, we see Lisa fighting an internal battel. Her struggle is to keep herself alive and to
acclimatize herself with the hopeless events and moribund atmosphere around her.
As a suicide survivor, victim of the infidelity of her partner, she keeps on living her life as a warrior.
At last, her beautiful soul finds a perfect match for herself. She finds the guy Flynn. She explains
her relationship with Flynn as,
‘Love with Flynn is Flynn supporting me through every milestone in my life, and bragging about
my accomplishments to anyone and everyone, whether that be my family, friends, or
work colleagues’.
Kerriann ends the story on the note of hope for all of us,
‘They are out there somewhere, your soulmate. Just you wait, because they will come when you
least expect them, in the moment when you need them the most.
After all, that’s how I found mine’.

[litandcoffee · Rating 5 out of 5]

Macdonald’s engrossing latest convincingly expresses the afflictions of a young woman in a toxic relationship.

The high school junior Lisa McIntyre has always struggled with forming new friendships. Pursuing a romantic relationship is not something on her mind among the usual worries of junior year. But when the handsome and ambitious Tiegan Carpenter comes into her life, Lisa opens both her mind and heart to him. But after they start college, Lisa’s youthful bliss is undercut by Tiegan’s controlling and egocentric behavior: behind the façade of charm and care, there’s young man who wants Lisa to do things his own way. As her life turns upside down, Lisa begins to realize she must sort out her own priorities.

Lisa’s personality—a bit socially awkward and prone to strong emotions—imbues this moving story with both individuality and charm. Through Lisa, Macdonald skillfully depicts the inner struggles of a girl on the brink of womanhood, impatient to make all her romantic dreams come true.

Tiegan’s misogynist mentality is somewhat stereotyped, but he is thoroughly convincing.

With its exploration of universal themes of suicide, bullying, and toxicity in a relationship and a deeply-realized, relatable cast of characters, this novel will appeal to both lovers of romance and YA contemporary.

[Katie · Rating 4 out of 5]

There is a saying, “Sticks and stones may break my bones, but words will never hurt me.”. This book proves how wrong that statement can be. Bones will heal and bruises will fade, but the effect of words can stay with us for years. They tear apart our self-esteem. They shadow our future relationships and judgement. The characters and events in this book show the emotional torment caused by such words. Lisa may be fictional, but her suffering is real. Our suffering is real. We are your mothers, sisters, daughters, and partners. By reading this book, you are reading more than Lisa’s story, you are reading parts of our story. I’d like to thank the author for sharing her novel with the world.