Libby Miller has always been an unwavering optimist—but when her husband drops a bomb on their marriage the same day a doctor delivers devastating news, she realizes her rose-colored glasses have actually been blinding her.
With nothing left to lose, she abandons her life in Chicago for the clear waters and bright beaches of the Caribbean for what might be her last hurrah. Despite her new sunny … new sunny locale, her plans go awry when she finds that she can’t quite outrun the past or bring herself to face an unknowable future. Every day of tropical bliss may be an invitation to disaster, but with her twin brother on her trail and a new relationship on the horizon, Libby is determined to forget about fate. Will she risk it all to live—and love—a little longer?
From critically acclaimed author Camille Pagán comes a hilarious and hopeful story about a woman choosing between a “perfect” life and actually living.
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Libby gets a cancer diagnosis on the same day she learns her husband’s been keeping secrets from her. You wouldn’t expect this book to be super uplifting but somehow it was!
As she runs off to the Caribbean, she finds herself — and a little romance too! There lots of dark moments of grief, but also plenty of funny bits. A really entertaining read that I would definitely recommend if you’re looking for something light and heartfelt.
This was a fun, beachy read (despite the fact that I read this in late November).
The protagonist, Camille, discovers she has a rare form of cancer, on the same afternoon her marriage falls apart. To cope, she succumbs to a spiral of rash decision making, and finds herself somewhere in Puerto Rico.
It’s surprisingly lighthearted and optimistic — a quick palate-cleansing read.
This book was full of wry and self-deprecating humor from the start and kept me mostly laughing throughout. Not something that I would expect from a book that begins with a young woman learning that she has a terminal illness, and whose husband drops another life-altering bombshell on her the same day. There were tender, more melancholy moments for sure, but given the subject matter overall this book was excellently written and entertaining. I truly loved it and highly recommend it.
Delightful escapism! Thoroughly enjoyed.
How do you possibly read a book about a woman with cancer and find it fulfilling and uplifting?
That’s the feat that Camille pulled off as an author. From the first pages I was riveted to know what would happen to Libby and how she’d ‘survive’ everything thrown at her, including a broken marriage. It’s a lightening fast and uplifting read, and if like me you enjoy that, I guarantee you’ll love it!
But most importantly, you known how certain books stick with you for years after you read them, and bring you insight you didn’t’ yet know you’d need in future years? This book was that for me.
The story starts off with a bang. When Libby Miller arrives home to break the news to her husband that she has terminal cancer, he announces he’s gay. W-w-w-what? (I was as shocked as she was.) So she doesn’t reveal she’s dying to Tom, the hubby, but instead tries to grasp that their marriage has been a lie.
I am new to Camille Pagan and enjoyed this book, partially because of her great character development. But mostly because of the 5-star writing.
Who would like this? Read more at https://cyndiezahner.com/2021/03/01/life-and-other-near-death-experiences-by-camille-pagan/
As I finished reading this book, closed my Kindle and curled up next to my sleeping husband, I was so overcome by the emotions stirred by the story that I actually had to wipe tears from my eyes, lying there thinking about what I’d just finished and how and why it so struck me, analysis after reading fiction that, I can guarantee you, NEVER happens.
Yet it did with this book.
There is just something so powerful, so real and human, about this story, about the prickly, complex character at its heart, about the way marriage and relationships, friendships and betrayal, about fear and illness, death and life; what it’s all about and how we don’t really know but push forward toward love and life anyway… well, how all THAT is dealt with, that left me feeling turned inside out, reflected in some ways, humored in others, but oh, so deeply moved.
I love a flawed protagonist, one that bites and hisses and sometimes makes bad decisions. I love a fictional person so sharply and fearlessly realized that she captures the very real traits of very real humans, so visceral and potent that I can almost feel them sitting across the room, snapping at me or making me laugh. Libby Miller is one of those.
Without giving anything away (as I note the book blurb does not), I’ll simply say that, after a one-two punch of exceedingly bad news, Libby takes herself off on a solitary journey, and while that narrative may sound cliched or in some way a hackneyed literary device, in the hands of Camille Pagan, involving the character of Libby Miller, it is anything but.
There is so much to consider and enjoy in this novel: laugh-out-loud irreverence, detailed and lush immersions into tropical locales, existential ponderings, and dialogue that jumps off the page in ways that are both smart and smart-ass, and I have to say I enjoyed every single minute.
I wondered how the story could be concluded without either “doing a Disney” or absolutely shattering a heart, but found that we’re gifted with the absolute perfect conclusion, as the author brings the various threads together in completely credible, shatteringly emotional ways, all of which left me deeply touched and, yes… wiping my eyes in the midnight hour.
Beautiful…a high recommend.
LIFE AND OTHER NEAR-DEATH EXPERIENCES by Camille Pagán is an emotional and touching story about love, family and second chances. Since the death of her mother at an early age, Libby Miller has been the eternal optimist, while her twin brother Paul is more of a realist. She maintains a close relationship with her father and her twin and his family, but her real rock is her husband of eighteen years, Tom. He gets her in a way no one else does and they have made a nice life together that many of their friends envy. One fateful day, Libby’s entire life is thrown into turmoil when her doctor tells her she has a rare and incurable cancer. Before she can relay the devastating news to Tom, he shocks her with revelation about their marriage that throws into question everything she believes about their relationship. Shocked and hurt, Libby escapes to a Caribbean island to decide what to do with what remains of her life. The rest of the story follows Libby’s journey as she copes with her situation and explores her options. She meets a few people along the way who share their own hard-won battles in an effort to encourage her to live. Although some of the topics were heart-wrenching, they were dealt with in a compassionate and heartfelt way. Wit and humor were interjected in just the right spots to keep the story flowing smoothly through the difficult issues Libby was facing. I truly enjoyed this engaging and uplifting book and highly recommend it.
Life and other Near-death Experiences…
We first meet Libby on quite possibly the worst day of her life. She finds out she has a rare form of cancer, and before she even has a chance to tell her husband Tom, he drops a bomb that he’s gay.
Her response, she sells everything of value and plans a month long trip to Puerto Rico. Meanwhile no one knows of her diagnosis, not Tom, her father or her twin brother Paul. She’s decided because their mother died from cancer she won’t put them through it again. So in her mind this trip is a last hurrah before she goes to tell her family, and prepares for the inevitable.
She is so mistaken in this.
This story is poignant, heart wrenching and uplifting all at once. Be prepared for sleepless nights, and have tissues at the ready. I’m certainly going to check out other books by Camille Pagán.
My third Camille Pagan novel. Well-crafted with wonderful characters and angsty topics told with wit and levity.
This is my first by this author, but I’ve already ordered two more audiobooks.
I was drawn in by Ms. Pagan’s voice and the way she approaches a serious topic with poignancy and the perfect balance of humor. You get an immediate sense of Libby’s character, frame of mind, and reasons for how she reacts to a devastating diagnosis. Throughout the story, Libby grows and changes, but she’s true to the woman she is.
Ms. Pagan is adept at incorporating the setting as a character, and I found myself Googling Vieques Island and the amazing bioluminescent bay. I was transported to Puerto Rico along with Libby and felt as if I was there with her, and fell in love as quickly as she did!
I won’t post any spoilers, but I was pleased with the ending–a “just-right” conclusion to Libby’s story, an ending both believable and heartfelt.
I also enjoyed the narrator for this audiobook.
Life and Other Near-Death Experiences is A roller coaster of emotions, full of moments that will make you feel everything Libby was going through.
I’m not sure how to feel about this book as a Cancer Thriver I identify a lot with the main Character Libby, her story, the way she was feeling, and at the same time I felt like she was very stubborn when it came to Tom, I know that she felt terrible after what happened between them but still there was a point that I really got tired that she was very closed off and didn’t want to talk.
Libby’s story was about strength, about finding and loving herself, but also about forgiveness, when everything felt so lost, she started to look for answers but everything she found was a lonely terrifying path that didn’t look so good. she felt people didn’t understand her and at the same time, she wanted to be left alone to find the peace she was seeking but life and circumstances didn’t want to give her that as they knew something was off.
she was stubborn and didn’t want to share the bad news with anybody, she only wanted to move on and have a happy life even if that meant only months or days.
My favorite part of the book is when Libby finally speaks with her brother Paul, the way he reacted, and wanted to take care of her was beautiful I wish my own brother would have reacted that way. but it was beautiful to feel the connection, the love the worries and the care he showed for her, that’s the moment that I really felt like she was showing her vulnerability like she finally let herself go and embrace the love people around her wanted to show and express to her. Definitely, Paul was my favorite character of all.
Overall it was a good story, Libby showed us that when life becomes hard to move on, your own survival instincts will always kick in to support you and make you stronger.
You just can’t go wrong with a Camille Pagan book! This is the booked that got me hooked. You will LOVE it!!
Camille Pagán has this remarkable way of writing stories and characters so realistic and relatable that you feel like, or I feel like, I could see myself living this story. This is the third book in under a month I’ve read from this author and I can’t wait to find my next one. Right after I find a tissue because this book had me crying like a baby. It was so deeply emotional. So touching. I loved every word of it.
Nobody makes sad situations funny like Camille Pagan. Even when terrible things are happening to her characters, her wit and wisdom shine through, making her books a joy to read. This is my favorite — and you’ll want to jet off to Puerto Rico immediately upon reading it, even if you’re not going through the trials and tribulations of the narrator, which are legion.
I enjoyed the laughs and the tears.
An easy read with lots of depth and dynamic characters. I laughed out loud and cried too. A novel worth reading.
My AP English teacher recommended this book in high school. I read it then, and I read it again a few weeks ago. I loved the story, this is definitely a book you can read over and over again.
One of the best books I’ve read in ages. Not your typical happily ever after. A truly original novel.