Author: Anna Quindlen
Genre: Fiction
Audience: Adult
Format: Book – Library
Synopsis: Mary Beth has a pretty good life. Her husband is a respected ophthalmologist and she herself runs a successful landscaping business. Their three children, 17 year old Ruby, and 14 year old twins Alex and Matt provide their share of concerns - but don't all kids? Then one day a single, senseless, violent act turns Mary Beth's life upside down. Can she rebuild and find a way to go on?
What I thought: picked this up on recommendation from Sheila over at Book Journey. To be honest, while is sounded good, I saw it as a perfect opportunity for fill in the Q author in my A-Z Challenge! It takes quite awhile for you to get to "the event." In fact, I was starting wonder if it would ever happen. In fact, what this served to do was draw you into the family life, so when it happened, it hit you as hard as it hits them. From that point on, I couldn't put the book down. For me, it rings with authenticity. Without going into too much detail, Mary Beth suffers a terrible loss. I follow a blog called Random Ramblings of a Stay at Home Mum. Lori suffered a different, but equally shattering loss which she has blogged about extensively. Much of the emotion and feelings she expresses and explores on her blog were echoed in this book. For me this indicated the author has either some knowledge of this level of pain or has done her research. Every Last One is not easy to read, it's emotionally draining and can lead you mind into areas you may not want to explore. But it does remind you there are those that have no choice but to venture into those areas. A hidden gem.
Recommended for: people who like books that tell it how it is!
Challenges: 100+ Challenge, A-Z Challenge
