I am sure there have been books that have made you cry. Misty eyed, tears rolling. This new release wrecked me. I am not an overly emotional person but Higgins got me.
You are going to love it. You are going to hate it. But you need to read it!
Releasing in early June, here are my thoughts on this gutting story.
Pack Up the Moon by Kristan Higgins
Publisher : Berkley (June 8, 2021)
ISBN-13 : 978-0593335369
OVERVIEW:
Joshua and Lauren are the perfect couple. Newly married, they’re wildly in love, each on a successful and rewarding career path. Then Lauren is diagnosed with a terminal illness.
As Lauren’s disease progresses, Joshua struggles to make the most of the time he has left with his wife and to come to terms with his future–a future without the only woman he’s ever loved. He’s so consumed with finding a way to avoid the inevitable ending that he never imagines his life after Lauren.
But Lauren has a plan to keep her husband moving forward. A plan hidden in the letters she leaves him. In those letters, one for every month in the year after her death, Lauren leads Joshua on a journey through pain, anger, and denial. It’s a journey that will take Joshua from his attempt at a dinner party for family and friends to getting rid of their bed…from a visit with a psychic medium to a kiss with a woman who isn’t Lauren. As his grief makes room for laughter and new relationships, Joshua learns Lauren’s most valuable lesson: The path to happiness doesn’t follow a straight line.
Sometimes heartbreaking, often funny, and always uplifting, this novel from New York Times bestselling author Kristan Higgins illuminates how life’s greatest joys are often hiding in plain sight.
Pack Up the Moon by Kristan Higgins Review
I am not sure what prompted this story but the thing that got me the most was the depth of love. Yes, we read about love in many forms and fashion in books today. This one though, this is all consuming. Powerful, emotional, and soul wrenching. I loved it and hated it too. I was afraid to read it because I knew it was going to be a tough story to get through. I cannot imagine trying to even write something like this.
I can go on and on with my thoughts on this book. It truly touched my soul and one of my thoughts as I closed the book was “Oh, to have a love like that!” But the more I thought about it, I do have a love like that… one that I need to get back to again. What an amazing reminder to find and rekindle that early love and remember why we fell in the first place. We just need to nurture it more, like they did.
Higgans crafted not a novel, but an amazing experience. One I will not forget. Keep a new box of tissues with you while reading this one.
5 Superb Stars
Disclaimer: Chris has personally reviewed the product listed above. She has not received any monetary compensation for her review but did receive a free ebook so she could evaluate and use it for this post. Her thoughts & opinions in this review are unbiased & honest and your opinions may differ.
Hi! I’m Chris! Just a Midlife Wife sharing about life’s journey; screaming and kicking through it while supposedly aging gracefully…
Focusing on healthy living, low carb & keto, things I am loving right now, and life in general.