✍🏻 Sophie Kinsella

☑️ Contemporary Fiction

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ 

“𝙔𝙤𝙪𝙧 𝙧𝙚𝙖𝙙𝙚𝙧𝙨 𝙡𝙤𝙫𝙚 𝙝𝙖𝙥𝙥𝙮 𝙚𝙣𝙙𝙞𝙣𝙜𝙨.”

“𝙊𝙛 𝙘𝙤𝙪𝙧𝙨𝙚 𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙮 𝙙𝙤. 𝙄 𝙡𝙤𝙫𝙚 𝙝𝙖𝙥𝙥𝙮 𝙚𝙣𝙙𝙞𝙣𝙜𝙨 𝙢𝙮𝙨𝙚𝙡𝙛. 𝙎𝙤 𝙄’𝙫𝙚 𝙞𝙣𝙫𝙚𝙣𝙩𝙚𝙙 𝙡𝙤𝙩𝙨 𝙤𝙛 𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙢. 𝘽𝙪𝙩 𝙣𝙤𝙬 𝙝𝙚𝙧𝙚’𝙨 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙞𝙧𝙤𝙣𝙮: 𝙄 𝙘𝙖𝙣’𝙩 𝙞𝙣𝙫𝙚𝙣𝙩 𝙖 𝙧𝙚𝙖𝙡-𝙡𝙞𝙛𝙚 𝙝𝙖𝙥𝙥𝙮 𝙚𝙣𝙙𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙛𝙤𝙧 𝙢𝙮𝙨𝙚𝙡𝙛.”

WOW. Full body goosebumps.

Overview: 

•Contemporary Novella

•Fictionalized Real Story

•Vignette Storytelling

•Themes of Family, Resilience, and Hope

CW: Cancer

𝗘𝘃𝗲 𝗶𝘀 𝗮 𝘀𝘂𝗰𝗰𝗲𝘀𝘀𝗳𝘂𝗹 𝗻𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗹𝗶𝘀𝘁 𝘄𝗵𝗼 𝘄𝗮𝗸𝗲𝘀 𝘂𝗽 𝗼𝗻𝗲 𝗱𝗮𝘆 𝗶𝗻 𝗮 𝗵𝗼𝘀𝗽𝗶𝘁𝗮𝗹 𝗯𝗲𝗱 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵 𝗻𝗼 𝗺𝗲𝗺𝗼𝗿𝘆 𝗼𝗳 𝗵𝗼𝘄 𝘀𝗵𝗲 𝗴𝗼𝘁 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗿𝗲. 𝗛𝗲𝗿 𝗵𝘂𝘀𝗯𝗮𝗻𝗱, 𝗻𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗿 𝗳𝗮𝗿 𝗳𝗿𝗼𝗺 𝗵𝗲𝗿 𝘀𝗶𝗱𝗲, 𝗲𝘅𝗽𝗹𝗮𝗶𝗻𝘀 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝘀𝗵𝗲 𝗵𝗮𝘀 𝗵𝗮𝗱 𝗮𝗻 𝗼𝗽𝗲𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝘁𝗼 𝗿𝗲𝗺𝗼𝘃𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗹𝗮𝗿𝗴𝗲, 𝗺𝗮𝗹𝗶𝗴𝗻𝗮𝗻𝘁 𝘁𝘂𝗺𝗼𝗿 𝗴𝗿𝗼𝘄𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗶𝗻 𝗵𝗲𝗿 𝗯𝗿𝗮𝗶𝗻. 

𝗥𝗲𝗰𝗼𝘂𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗱 𝗶𝗻 𝗯𝗿𝗶𝗲𝗳 𝗮𝗻𝗲𝗰𝗱𝗼𝘁𝗲𝘀, 𝗲𝗮𝗰𝗵 𝗼𝗻𝗲 𝗶𝘀 𝗮𝗻 𝗮𝘁𝘁𝗲𝗺𝗽𝘁 𝘁𝗼 𝗮𝗻𝘀𝘄𝗲𝗿 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝘁𝘆𝗽𝗲 𝗼𝗳 𝗶𝗺𝗽𝗼𝘀𝘀𝗶𝗯𝗹𝗲 𝗾𝘂𝗲𝘀𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝘀 𝗿𝗲𝗰𝗼𝗴𝗻𝗶𝘇𝗮𝗯𝗹𝗲 𝘁𝗼 𝗮𝗻𝘆𝗼𝗻𝗲 𝗻𝗮𝘃𝗶𝗴𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗹𝗮𝗯𝘆𝗿𝗶𝗻𝘁𝗵 𝗼𝗳 𝗴𝗿𝗶𝗲𝗳.

As Sophie Kinsella explains in her author’s note, while this book may be fiction, it’s her most autobiographical work as Eve’s story is truly her story.

This is such a raw, poignant, and brave book. Through a heartbreaking and beyond challenging journey, Eve never loses her hope and sense of humor. 

The candid conversations with her husband radiate with love. His steadfast devotion, the way he cares for her, and the way they lift one another up… it’s truly so special. 

“𝙔𝙤𝙪 𝙝𝙖𝙫𝙚 𝙞𝙣𝙘𝙪𝙧𝙖𝙗𝙡𝙚 𝙘𝙖𝙣𝙘𝙚𝙧, 𝙢𝙮 𝙗𝙚𝙖𝙪𝙩𝙞𝙛𝙪𝙡 𝙀𝙫𝙚. 𝘽𝙪𝙩 𝙮𝙤𝙪 𝙠𝙚𝙚𝙥 𝙛𝙤𝙧𝙜𝙚𝙩𝙩𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙄 𝙝𝙖𝙫𝙚 𝙩𝙤 𝙠𝙚𝙚𝙥 𝙧𝙚𝙢𝙞𝙣𝙙𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙮𝙤𝙪 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙨𝙚 𝙖𝙧𝙚 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙝𝙖𝙧𝙙𝙚𝙨𝙩 𝙢𝙤𝙢𝙚𝙣𝙩𝙨 𝙤𝙛 𝙢𝙮 𝙡𝙞𝙛𝙚.”

And the intimate moments with her family were viscerally heartbreaking. The narrative pulls you into the room with them, watching them process heavy emotions and “pre-grief”. 

“𝙄 𝙠𝙣𝙤𝙬, 𝙢𝙮 𝙡𝙤𝙫𝙚. 𝙄𝙩’𝙨 𝙝𝙖𝙧𝙙.” 𝙄 𝙢𝙖𝙮 𝙣𝙚𝙫𝙚𝙧 𝙨𝙚𝙚 𝙮𝙤𝙪 𝙜𝙧𝙤𝙬 𝙪𝙥, 𝙢𝙮 𝙗𝙚𝙖𝙪𝙩𝙞𝙛𝙪𝙡 𝙜𝙞𝙧𝙡, 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙄 𝙘𝙖𝙣’𝙩 𝙗𝙚𝙖𝙧 𝙞𝙩.

The quick glimpses into the world of a cancer patient revealed the monotonous, the uncomfortable, and the rollercoaster of emotions. Cancer touches everyone, and the narrative brings us inside the painful journey of the person who’s sick, which feels so important for us to see.

“𝙒𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝙖𝙗𝙤𝙪𝙩 𝙢𝙚𝙣𝙩𝙖𝙡𝙡𝙮? 𝙃𝙤𝙬’𝙨 𝙮𝙤𝙪𝙧 𝙢𝙤𝙤𝙙?”

𝙄 𝙘𝙮𝙘𝙡𝙚 𝙩𝙝𝙧𝙤𝙪𝙜𝙝 𝙙𝙚𝙣𝙞𝙖𝙡, 𝙙𝙚𝙨𝙥𝙖𝙞𝙧, 𝙨𝙝𝙤𝙘𝙠, 𝙜𝙧𝙞𝙚𝙛, 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙣 𝙨𝙤𝙢𝙚𝙩𝙞𝙢𝙚𝙨 𝙧𝙞𝙙𝙞𝙘𝙪𝙡𝙤𝙪𝙨 𝙝𝙖𝙥𝙥𝙞𝙣𝙚𝙨𝙨. 𝙄 𝙖𝙥𝙥𝙧𝙚𝙘𝙞𝙖𝙩𝙚 𝙨𝙢𝙖𝙡𝙡 𝙥𝙡𝙚𝙖𝙨𝙪𝙧𝙚𝙨 𝙨𝙤 𝙢𝙪𝙘𝙝 𝙢𝙤𝙧𝙚 𝙩𝙝𝙖𝙣 𝙄 𝙙𝙞𝙙, 𝙗𝙪𝙩 𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙣 𝙖𝙡𝙤𝙣𝙜 𝙘𝙤𝙢𝙚𝙨 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙗𝙧𝙪𝙩𝙖𝙡 𝙠𝙣𝙤𝙬𝙡𝙚𝙙𝙜𝙚 𝙖𝙜𝙖𝙞𝙣. 𝙎𝙤𝙢𝙚𝙩𝙞𝙢𝙚𝙨 𝙄 𝙘𝙤𝙣𝙩𝙚𝙢𝙥𝙡𝙖𝙩𝙚 𝙙𝙮𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙡𝙚𝙖𝙫𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙢𝙮 𝙛𝙖𝙢𝙞𝙡𝙮 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙄 𝙘𝙖𝙣’𝙩 𝙗𝙚𝙖𝙧 𝙞𝙩. 𝙄 𝙬𝙖𝙞𝙩 𝙪𝙣𝙩𝙞𝙡 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙝𝙤𝙪𝙨𝙚 𝙞𝙨 𝙚𝙢𝙥𝙩𝙮, 𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙣 𝙘𝙧𝙮 𝙪𝙜𝙡𝙮 𝙨𝙤𝙗𝙨, 𝙞𝙣𝙘𝙤𝙣𝙨𝙤𝙡𝙖𝙗𝙡𝙚, 𝙡𝙤𝙪𝙙, 𝙠𝙚𝙚𝙣𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙬𝙖𝙞𝙡𝙞𝙣𝙜, 𝙥𝙪𝙣𝙘𝙝𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙗𝙚𝙙 𝙬𝙞𝙩𝙝 𝙞𝙣𝙚𝙛𝙛𝙚𝙘𝙩𝙪𝙖𝙡, 𝙥𝙤𝙬𝙚𝙧𝙡𝙚𝙨𝙨 𝙛𝙞𝙨𝙩𝙨…. “𝙊𝙝, 𝙪𝙥 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙙𝙤𝙬𝙣,” 𝙨𝙖𝙮𝙨 𝙀𝙫𝙚 𝙖𝙛𝙩𝙚𝙧 𝙖 𝙡𝙤𝙣𝙜 𝙥𝙖𝙪𝙨𝙚. “𝘽𝙪𝙩, 𝙮𝙤𝙪 𝙠𝙣𝙤𝙬. 𝙄𝙩 𝙘𝙤𝙪𝙡𝙙 𝙗𝙚 𝙬𝙤𝙧𝙨𝙚.”

I loved how they discussed not wanting to accomplish a bucket list, but instead just embracing the joy and connection in their normal life - “normal plus”. 

Don’t let the heavy subject matter deter you from reading this book. There are moments of levity embedded throughout that keep it hopeful. Plus, it is only 130 pages.

This story beyond worthwhile, and I wholeheartedly recommend it. 

My heart goes out to Kinsella and her entire family and network of support.

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