In Loretta Nyhan’s warm and witty Amazon Charts bestselling novel, a widow discovers an unexpected chance to start over—right in her own backyard.Paige Moresco found her true love in eighth grade—and lost him two years ago. Since his death, she’s been sleepwalking through life, barely holding on for the sake of her teenage son. Her house is a wreck, the grass is overrun with weeds, and she’s at … weeds, and she’s at risk of losing her job. As Paige stares at her neglected lawn, she knows she’s hit rock bottom. So she does something entirely unexpected: she begins to dig.
As the hole gets bigger, Paige decides to turn her entire yard into a vegetable garden. The neighbors in her tidy gated community are more than a little alarmed. Paige knows nothing about gardening, and she’s boldly flouting neighborhood-association bylaws. But with the help of new friends, a charming local cop, and the transformative power of the soil, Paige starts to see potential in the chaos of her life. Something big is beginning to take root—both in her garden and in herself.
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Loretta Nyhan! Bravo, woman! You make me laugh and think and shout out loud whilst reading your books. Digging In reminds me of “digging deep” into ourselves and rediscovering yourself after suffering a heartbreaking loss. I relate with Paige in every way and felt a kinship with her as she rediscovers herself in her own way. I love the humor as I think we as women use humor as a tool to deal with the hard stuff, the stuff that shakes us to the core. I have goosebumps writing this because it’s so real. We go through loss and seeking our own ways to stay above water and take care of children, ourselves and LIFE. I loved this book and I will continue to recommend to all the women I know. GO READ THIS BOOK. Just got get it, read it (are you going?) Good. 5 stars, easy!
#NetGalley
This is perfect women’s fiction–a story of a woman whose life derailed after her husband’s death and finds new life and growth in a garden, friends, and career. (You have to be okay with F-bombs.) This book made me anxious for spring and a trip to the Green Thumb Nursery.
I cried when I read the acknowledgements. I don’t think this story was meant to be inspirational, but it absolutely was–which is, I think, the very best sort of inspirational story. The true and remarkable thing about this book is here’s a novelist writing about a woman coping with her husband’s death and midway through, her husband dies. In the midst of her grief, she has to write about her character finding love, hope, and friendship…I’m still crying just thinking of how incredibly painful and yet healing this must have been.
At the end of the book, I learned that this hard-won story was born, in part, from the author’s personal experience, making it even better—and the story was already excellent! And though I don’t have a green thumb, I enjoyed reading about the main character’s gardening triumph and her crotchety old neighbor who I grew to like. This book is the perfect length for a flight with a longish layover.
I tend to read historical fiction and biographies so it felt like I needed to break the cycle and include some lighter material.
“Digging In” was a fun read. Although it was somewhat predictable, it also contained some unexpected twists in the story. The author was creative and kept my attention throughout the book.
This reader was enthralled with the prose at the beginning of this book. I felt Paige’s emotions of losing a husband who passed away in a car accident. Paige is left alone to support and raise a teenage son Trey who is suffering the loss of his Dad.
I felt the author did a great job showing Paige’s struggle with grief, dealing with a teenager on her own, and Paige’s struggle to reinvent herself. Thank you to NetGalley and Lake Union Publishing.
Made me feel that you can get through many things if you really try.
From the moment Big Frank died and his son ‘Lukas’ took over the company that Paige had worked at for many years and turned it into …well, I don’t know how to describe what he turned it into and then told the employees that they’d have to have friendly competitions to see who got to stay with the company and who would be given a chance to move on I was hooked. I felt Paige’s pain, fear, anxiety, anger as my own and I just wanted Lukas to get what was coming to him…but the story grew way beyond that. It added in lots of additional storylines – the death of Paige’s husband a few years prior and how her and her son, Trey, were (or were not) coping, Mykia the lady who had a vegetable stand at the local farmer’s market, Paige’s run ins with her neighbor – the secret he was hiding, Officer ‘Leprechaun’.
I lived every moment of this book as if I were an invisible person sitting on Paige’s shoulder… I cried for her, was angry on her behalf, felt annoyance with the actions of others…it was like I was there.
This book was not the tried and true tale of a widow moving on. Paige seems very real as she struggled to get meaning and balance back in her life. The later part of the book, especially the interaction with her neighbor was quiet a surprise! Love is complicated but definitely worth it.
Good storyline, really makes you appreciate the loss a widow goes through and trying to figure out life without your other half
I haven’t enjoyed a novel this much in a very long time. Very hope filled and uplifting.
Diggin In is a rare book that emotionally tugged my heart, and the author molded it like clay and breathed new life into it and set it free.
Protagonist Paige experiences a life-altering tragedy, and the story is about how she copes with grief. The author faced a similar tragedy in her life, and her first-hand experience allows her to write with real authority and compassion on this issue.
Humor and hope are weaved skillfully along with grief to create a beautiful tapestry that allows readers to be touched without being drowned in emotions.
I could not put this book down and read it in two sittings. And the story lingers in me still with a pleasant after-taste.
Extremely unique. While it has its humorous side, it’s also very thought provoking. Very enjoyable book!
Poignant, emotional and humorous come to mind when describing Loretta Nyhan’s novel, Digging In. This is a tale of life after incomprehensible loss and the riches of starting over. Paige has tragically lost her husband, and two years later, neither she nor her teenage son are dealing with it well. The house is a mess. Their relationship’s strangled. Paige’s job maybe in jeopardy. What’s a woman to do when nothing is going right? Start digging!
There is something for everyone in this book, however, it will likely appeal most to 40-somethings and moms of teens. It doesn’t take being a woman who has been around the block, had happiness, gotten pushed around, and overcame defeat to appreciate the emotions and humor of this book, but it doesn’t hurt.
I wouldn’t say I loved Paige, but I did empathize with her. In fact, I’d say most of the characters are highly empathetic, and that is probably due to the subtle message that even the person who seems to have their act together, is probably dealing with some personal issue.
I did enjoy the humor in this story as well as the personal growth shown by many of the characters. However, learning that the author started this book after tragically losing her husband really made this story come alive for me. It is not obvious that Ms. Nyhan is writing from the point of view of her own tragedy, but having that information helped me feel the depth of the lead character’s sense of loss. Ms. Nyhan clearly doesn’t take her subject matter lightly, but she is able to give her readers a story of loss that is fringed in enough humor to give us all a reason to be hopeful for second chances.
While the premise is dark-a woman’s husband is unexpectedly killed in an automobile accident-the story focuses on how she deals with this loss. As one might expect, for quite some time, not so well. She has a teen-age son in the throes of grief. She doesn’t know how to help him when she hardly can handle her own feelings. As time goes by she finds an outlet that helps her process what has happened, come to terms with it, and move on. A fair amount of humor was woven into the the book, instead of gloom and doom, which made it a winner for me.
Paige is dealing with the death of her husband, Jesse due to a car accident. They had a 17 year old son, Trey. Paige works for an ad agency as a graphic designer. She loses her boss, Frank to a heart attack whom she considered a second father. Frank’s son, Lukas takes over his dad’s business and makes it more of a success than it already was. Paige and her friend, Jackie were afraid of losing their jobs.
Paige decides to build a garden after she digs holes in her backyard. It rains and Trey uses the mud from the rain that fell as his own personal slip and slide. The first competition Lukas devises for Landon Cosmetics had two people losing their jobs including Paiges’s bff Jackie but she stood up for herself and is back but if she loses next competition… There will be no severance package.
I’m loving the relationship blooming between Paige and Sean. I love all the characters and the hang at Guh but I seriously want to throat punch Lukas for being such a jerk.
I loved Bill Eckhardt, Sean, Paige and Trey. This was one of the funniest, lovable books I’ve ever read. Petra was a complete hoot. I loved her. Highly recommend it
Loretta Nyhan is a new author to me, but this won’t be the last book I read of hers.
It’s a fantastic, emotional, laugh out loud story of picking up the pieces of your life following the biggest, sudden loss you have to face and doing it YOUR way!
Truly well done and a must read for anyone.
Words to embrace each and every moment:
“When you give something meaning, it’s worth remembering. We filter out the stuff that doesn’t touch our hearts.”