When you lose the person you love, can you find comfort?

Synopsis

Recently-widowed father of one Luke is desperate for a sign.

Since his beloved wife Helen passed, Luke and six-year-old Amy are just about keeping the show on the road, but he’d do anything to have Helen near him again.

Connie’s much-missed mum was everything to her daughter. A friend, a cheer-leader, a comfort, and the best housemate Connie ever had. What she wouldn’t give to speak to her one more time…

Teenage twins Alex and Lucy both miss their dad desperately but neither have the words to put it right.

In the heart of Dublin, a quiet community is forming, drawn together by the loved ones they have lost, but kept together by friendship and laughter. As Luke, Connie, Alex, Lucy and the other patrons of the Leesom Street Café learn to smile again, none of them are quite ready for meeting the person who may be able to make all their dreams come true.

Because if you love and listen hard enough, goodbye might not be the end.

Heartbreaking and heartwarming, uplifting and utterly unforgettable, Claudia Carroll’s latest novel is perfect for all fans of Ruth Jones, Jojo Moyes, Cecilia Ahern and Shari Low.

My review

Ever since losing his beloved wife Helen, Luke is struggling. Not only is he raising their daughter on his own, but his job as an architect is very time – demanding. He finds it difficult to find the perfect balance, and he would do anything to have Helen back. Connie knows what it feels to lose a beloved one, as she is also still trying to cope after losing her mother. Connie’s mother was more than just her mum, she was Connie’s best friend. And now Connie is on her own, with a brother living on the other side of the world, eagerly wanting to sell the home Connie has been living in. Twins Alex and Lucy may be teenagers, but losing their father for sure scarred them. The sisters couldn’t be more different one from another, yet their grief is the same. While one more reluctant than another, these people all meet together at a bereavement café, talking, listening or even being there by force, trying to cope with their pain. But  when one day a famous author enters the scene, perhaps now they all have the chance to talk again to the person they love and need the most…

I have said it in other reviews, I am not the kind of person that believes in anything supernatural. And that also applies on ghosts, seances, appearances etc. Now, if that is something you believe in, that is your prerogative, just like it’s mine in not believing.

But there  is something in grief, in hurt, that made me pick up this book, even if there happens to be something mystical.

I also have to admit, I haven’t been faced with a great grief  myself yet. I know that that will come one day, but I perhaps was too young when losing my grandparents, not understanding grief completely. So for now, I have been saved from that heartbreaking feeling. But many people have been through this, and are still going through it, and I always do my best to be the supportive person for my friends and those around me that are facing grief.

My heart truly went out to Luke. He is still in pain since losing Helen, and it’ easy to see the struggles he is having. He wants to be the best dad possible for his little girl, but he had a demanding job. And with a young team, it’s not easy making everyone understand what he is going through.

And that angered me, because grief is something personal, and in these moments, a job, a career, work, is the last of someone’s worries. And not seeing that understanding from his boss, and his colleagues just left me flabbergasted. And there is one person paying the price, and that is Luke’s little girl, Amy…

Being a parent being part of a couple is already not an easy task, imagine doing it all on your own. Amy needs her father more than ever, even if she for sure is a bubbly character, very resilient despite her young age. Yet a little girl just needs her father, no matter how much she may enjoy playing with her cousins…

Luke is torn, he wants to be with Amy, but losing his job isn’t an option either… And then he is being reprimanded by someone unexpected, and also received the ‘gentle’ suggestion to participate at the bereavement café…

While Luke’s story broke my heart, I have to say that Connie’s story terrified me a little bit…

Now, don’t worry, Connie is also a lovely character, and she is truly at loss after losing her mother. As I am rather close to my mother too, I could easily comprehend Connie’s pain and struggles. And it saddened me that she couldn’t find comfort and solace with her brother, because I truly believe that something like this, losing a parent, would bring my brother and I even closer.

So why terrifying you may think? Well, because Connie starts to receive some strange calls. Calls not on her regular phone, but a phone that shouldn’t be even working anymore.

Calls even at the most inappropriate moments, letting Connie get some ugly looks from bystanders.

And I could understand how Connie could not talk to anyone about what she is going through, because wouldn’t you also believe that she has gone truly crazy?

You may think from all the above that this is a depressing story, but don’t be fooled. Because the presence of famous author Lucasta is for sure a ray of light! And yes, I was sceptical about her gift, and it for sure is something peculiar.

But Lucasta may be excentric, but she is also a wonderful person. She may not be up to date with everything that is going on in the world, and sometimes she should better think twice about what she says, but there isn’t an inch of a doubt that whatever she does or says comes from the heart.

And she helps not only Luke and Connie, but also others in a way that no one else possibly could! Not only to get over their grief, but also giving opportunities.

I was a bit afraid that the focus in this book would be a little too much on the special gift, bit I was happy to read that yes, it is an important asset of the book, but that it’s mainly about coming to terms with loss.

Because we see Luke, Connie, Alex, Lucy, Stella and other people understanding that coming together, talking about their pain, truly does help. And even if you don’t want to talk about it, even reminiscing can slowly heal the heart.

I didn’t expect to like this book as much as I eventually did. Yet it managed to touch my heart, feel the pain of the characters, but also feel the relief and the calmness that came on a later stage. And just perhaps, I was a bit disappointed about the epilogue, as something *finally* takes place, a something that I thought would have happened way sooner 😊. But perhaps also this was something that fitted the story perfectly, as you can’t rush things!