Blog Tour: Sweet Ruin by Cathi Hanauer
It's that time again (I know, I'm in reading heaven these days)! We have a MotherTalk sponsored blog tour for SWEET RUIN by Cathi Hanauer (which means I do get a free book and small little something for my time).When first approached about this book, I jumped at the chance-- always a sucker for all mom-lit type books. But, I was even more so when I read the blurb. Not only is a story about a suburban mom, but it was a mom who works from home with a child, and has suffered a loss of a child. A deeper read than chic lit, and I was ready for it!
Here's the set up:
Elayna Leopold is a suburban mom in New Jersey. Her husband works long hours a lawyer. Pre-children the couple was all about fun, night life, and chasing dreams and careers. Now, she finds herself submersed in motherhood. Hazel her first daughter was born. Then 2 years after, her son was born. And died shortly after his birth. Now we are two years after that... and Elayna is just emerging from the throws of depression (I mean who wouldn't be?). She's beginning to see the light of day, enjoy her time with her daughter, and well, just enjoy life.
In walks Kevin--the artist who lives in the apartments across the way. And suddenly desires she thought long dead resurface, the person she once was starts to re-emerge, and well, the story unfolds.
Honestly, I couldn't put this book down when I started reading it. I was captivated with the detail and honesty of Elayna. I was enthralled immediately into the routine life Elayna lived (hell, I live it almost every day myself). And I was even more enchanted by the relationship Elayna had with her daughter Hazel. Though the daughter is only four, she's definitely a wise soul. And also a spirited and intelligent girl who--well, we can imagine--takes very much after her mother. It is no surprise that this relationship brought me into the story, hell, I'm a mother myself and can completely relate on almost every level!
But it was so much more than that. It was the detail about the relationship Elayna had with her husband, her day care provider, her sister that really nailed it for me. The very idea that a mother is really a woman. A woman that has needs, wants, desires--that don't always revolve around her children. And as a woman, it's a delicate balancing act. One that has ramifications.
The story is all real. All very true. And each and every character is deep, involved, and full of human faults. It was the honesty in which Elayna talked about her depression, about losing a child, and about falling in and out of love with her husband, and dealing with what life had given to her (and taken away). Pansy, the day care providers, often possessiveness of her children that stayed with her. The hurt she felt when Elayna wouldn't bring Hazel to class. Cynthia's (the sister), desire for love, happiness, and the perfect life. And Paul, Elyana's husband, own struggle with his depression, his career, and being the father and husband he imagined himself to be. Sure it was written from Elayna's point of view--but all of these characters were evident. As well as their thoughts and feelings--and in their actions (and reactions).
The story, deep in thoughts about one woman's struggles and growth, pulls you in. Before you know it, you are heading straight into a whirlwind--one that you can see coming straight for you--but you can't move out the way. And don't want to.
The writing is dead on. In my part of the world (which really means in my experiences), this book is very real. Heartbreaking. Truthful. And one a keeper on my bookshelf. As much as I could relate to Elayna, I found myself trying to decide if I, too, would make the same decisions she does. How I would deal with loss? How my family would deal with it? And how I would move on in my life. And really that is what the book is about-- life, loss, moving on.
Really. Check. It. Out. It is like Jennifer Weiner, but a bit more serious. But tackling some of the very same issues. This one's a keeper. And I'll read it again and again.
Buy the book here from Amazon.
Check out Cathi's website.
Read an interview with Cathi Hanauer.
Labels: blog tour, MotherTalk, reviews
