Second chances in many different ways

Synopsis

Thirty-three-year-old Ruth Henderson and her daughter Maggie have some hard choices to make. Following the tragic death of Maggie’s father, they are left with a mountain of debt and broken hearts. So, despite her vow never to return home after the fall-out from her teenage pregnancy, Ruth can’t see any option other than for the two of them to move back in with her parents.

Going home means many things – finally confronting her estranged father, navigating her mother’s desperate need to make everything ok despite the wobbles in her own marriage, not to mention helping a still-grieving Maggie to settle into a new school, find new friends, and stop expressing her emotions through her ever-changing hair colour.

What Ruth needs are friends, but she abandoned her childhood ones when she left all those years ago. Luckily for Ruth, they haven’t abandoned her. Slowly she lets herself be embraced by a group of women who have always had her back – even when she didn’t know it. And as the grief and shock recede, Ruth can even begin to imagine sharing her life with someone other than just Maggie – if Maggie will let her.

My review

Ruth Henderson and her daughter Maggie are moving back home, after the death of Maggie’s father, and discovery of the mountain of debts.
Moving back to your parents is never easy, but in Ruth’s case it’s even worse, because with her teenage pregnancy years ago, she became estranged from her father.
She always felt like the odd one out, and those feelings only increased with the years.
Ruth also has to face the fact that her mother wants everything to be okay, even if they are not. And then there are the obvious struggles of raising a teenage daughter. A daughter that is still grieving over the loss of her father, and expresses her emotions by the colour of her hair.
But living back with her parents, also means seeing back Ruth’s childhood friends, friends that are welcoming her back. And also seeing again the one person who truly stole her hearts years ago…
However, being a mother means that Maggie will always be her first priority, a priority who may not be ready to see her mother dating another man… 

With Beth Moran, you know that you will get on an emotional rollercoaster, with a few unexpected twists and turns. However, just like on a real rollercoaster, once the ride is over, you feel happy of the trip you made! 

Ruth is the kind of character that even as a reader is a bit hard to instant like. We meet her at perhaps her lowest moment, as she has just lost the father of her daughter, she discovers the debts they have and has no other option to return home to her parents. To make things even worse, she and her father have an cold relationship, and Ruth clearly feels the disappointment he feels. 

So yes, all the above made me pity her. But why exactly I didn’t liked her from first instance, is perhaps the fact that she makes the right decisions, on paper.
Her pregnancy came as a total surprise, and while it is somehow admirable that the couple give it a shot, it’s clearly that they are just not that well – fitted.
As her partner never really has a part in the story itself, it makes it harder to have an honest opinion over the family as a unit, yet I couldn’t shake the feeling that the only thing in common was the love for Maggie. 

However, Ruth also shows an admirable determination. If I had to go back living with my parents, it would be just terrible. And I have a great relationship with them! But as Ruth doesn’t have that, I could see why she saw it as admitting her defeat… 

We also see her as a protective mother, as she sees behind Maggie’s mask. Ruth understands what Maggie is going through, and I liked it how Ruth even understood what the message of each new colour of Maggie’s hair meant.
Yet that doesn’t take away that Maggie has a free pass on everything. Ruth can still be strict when needed. And while she may appear too strict in a few occasions, she is always righteous. 

There are several events in this story. Obviously there is Ruth and Maggie adapting in a ‘new old’ place. But also Ruth and her father something attempting to make amends. And then the relationship between Ruth’s own parents are also seemingly reaching a breaking point.
And the cringy fact of a doctor not understanding or accepting rejections… 

But what stood the most out in this story, is the warmth. Because Ruth, even if she appeared to have burnt many bridges in the past, finds herself welcomed back by her old friends. She finds ‘her people’ again, ready to forgive her for leaving them.
They are helping her, without question, even if they have also their own issues.
But also warmth from Ruth’s ow family. That perhaps don’t show it that easily, but the love is still there, despite their differences and feuds in the past years. Because no matter what happened in the past or what will happen in the future, they are and always will be family… 

And then there is also so much strength in this story. Because yes, Ruth has been knocked down several times, yet she finds the resilience to just keep going. she is adamant to pay of the debts, even if that means taking two jobs. Even if that means working for someone she dislikes. Because she has her complete focus on the endgame. 

And then there is, of course, so much love in this story.
Love for your own child, a love that turns you in an enraged Mama – Bear when needed. But it’s also the kind of love that makes you stand your ground.
But there is also love for your friends, as I stated above, a love that can stand the test of time and distance.
And love for your family, that is unbreakable no matter what.
And then… the first love…
The purest kind of love… a love that so often just fades away, ends in heartbreak. But that once in a while, turns out to be the only, perfect love. 

Like I said, this was an emotional rollercoaster. I had many laughs, several snickering moments, a few gasps, and a lot of heart – warming bits.
This author shows again that sometimes the most plain starts in a book can turn into a great, unexpected yet wonderful, inspiring, encouraging story about second chances in so many different aspects.