I Like You Just Fine When You're Not Around by Ann Garvin
Tyrus Books: 6/4/16
eBook review copy; 288 pages
ISBN-13: 9781440595455
http://anngarvin.net/books/
I Like You Just Fine When You're Not Around by Ann Garvin
is a highly recommended family drama.
Tig Monahan is a classic caregiver, people pleaser, and part of the
sandwich generation. She's trying to make sure her mother, Hallie,
who has Alzheimer's, has the best care possible and is settling into
Hope House, an assisted living facility without any help from her
sister Wendy. She is a therapist who is reaching the end of her
patience. She is a partner in a relationship where her boyfriend,
Peter, wants/expects her to leave everything and go to Hawaii on
sabbatical with him. Clearly, Tig has some issues.
Predictably, since no one can do it all, Tig reaches her breaking
point. At her last day of work, a therapy practice she gave notice
to leave so she could go with Peter to Hawaii, she snaps at a
patient during couple's therapy and lets him know exactly what she
thinks. Then, with her mother not settling in and Wendy nowhere in
sight and not taking her calls, she decides she simply can't leave
with Peter right away. Peter leaves Tig with a load of guilt. Then
Wendy shows up, with no notice, 9 months pregnant. And that's just
the tip of the iceberg of issues. No wonder Tig is stressed out. Now
she's jobless with a very pregnant sister staying with her and a
mother who never recognizes her. Could things get worse? Can Tig
really take care of everything for everyone all the time?
Garvin does an excellent job keeping all the stressors of Tig's life
realistic, while at the same time adding some humor and wit along
with the realistic drama. Families can be messy. Aging parents that
must be assisted by their children, who are already overly busy and
stressed out, is a common occurrence. Garvin takes this fact and runs
with it, while carefully developing the plot. Tig's character is
well developed. Her struggles with handling everything are detailed
and very realistic.
The quality of the writing sets this apart from other family dramas.
Garvin keeps the plot moving as more things happen to Tig that force
her to confront some personal revelations. There is one thread in
the plot that happens a bit too smoothly, so you will have to
suspend disbelief there. No spoilers - it will either bother you or
it won't. I found it easy to overlook, but I did note its convenient
placement in the plot. This would be a great choice for summer
escapism reading.
Disclosure:
My advanced reading copy was courtesy
of the publisher for review purposes.
No comments:
Post a Comment