“An emotional journey of love, loss, healing, and redemption. I rooted for every character.” -Lisa See, New York Times and USA Today bestselling author of Snow Flower and The Secret Fan”I Liked My Life is a treasure of a novel. Warm-hearted and clever, the story will keep you reading until the final delicious revelation.” -Diane Chamberlain, New York Times and USA Today bestselling author “Warm … York Times and USA Today bestselling author
“Warm and hopeful, this marvelous debut stands next to novels from Catherine McKenzie and Carolyn Parkhurst.” –Booklist (starred)
“A heartbreaking and ultimately heartwarming read about life, death, and family.” -PopSugar, A Best Winter 2017 Book
“An absolutely stunning book…remarkable.” –RT Book Reviews, 4 1/2 stars, Top Pick
A story from debut author Abby Fabiaschi that is “as absorbing as it is illuminating, and as witty as it is heartbreaking.”
Maddy is a devoted stay-at-home wife and mother, host of excellent parties, giver of thoughtful gifts, and bestower of a searingly perceptive piece of advice or two. She is the cornerstone of her family, a true matriarch…until she commits suicide, leaving her husband Brady and teenage daughter Eve heartbroken and reeling, wondering what happened. How could the exuberant, exacting woman they loved disappear so abruptly, seemingly without reason, from their lives? How they can possibly continue without her? As they sift through details of her last days, trying to understand the woman they thought they knew, Brady and Eve are forced to come to terms with unsettling truths.
Maddy, however, isn’t ready to leave her family forever. Watching from beyond, she tries to find the perfect replacement for herself. Along comes Rory: pretty, caring, and spontaneous, with just the right bit of edge…but who also harbors a tragedy of her own. Will the mystery of Maddy ever come to rest? And can her family make peace with their history and begin to heal?
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I started this book while traveling. I picked it because I thought it would be a fun read. And it was. I Liked My Life has some of the snarkiest laugh-out-loud lines I’ve read in a long time. And it has so much more.
The depth of feeling that Maddie’s husband and daughter suffer is breathtakingly beautiful. The remorse. The hurt. Even the anger. All so truly believable and wonderfully written.
If you haven’t read this book yet, you need to. You won’t be sorry.
I really enjoyed this debut. An original story that dealt with secrets and grief and letting go in a way that felt true. For fans of The Lovely Bones and good storytelling generally.
One of my favorite reads of this year. Wonderful commentary on family, marriage, motherhood, friendship. A literary hat-trick, this story is tragic, funny and inspiring all at once.
One of the best books I’ve read lately. Fantastic character development and story twists and turns.
Great characters and the ending will surprise you!
Very thought provoking
This book is a10+. It is beautifully written and amazingly is a debut novel. I realize that a personal incident in the author’s young life gave her the impetus to write the story. Then it was put aside for 7 years which allowed her to bring her maturity to the story. It is an emotional story with wonderful messages. I will reread this book again for sure!
I really liked this book, it grabbed me right away. If this is her first book, I can’t wait to read what comes next.
Creative, creative, creative – yet believable to a degree.
Very though provoking. A real page turner read it in one session.
Loved it it makes you think of your own life and the time you give to your loved ones
Warm and smart and witty, this book sticks with you a long time. Fabiaschi has a lot of intelligent things to say about families and grief, but you’ll never feel lectured to — these characters are lived-in, breathing, three-dimensional. Read it.
A mother commits suicide leaving behind a self-absorbed husband and a teenage daughter who now have to try to figure out their lives without her. The story alternates between three narrators. Maddy, the mother, tells her story as she watches her family and friends try to figure out how to cope with her death. Eve is the daughter who is trying to figure out why her mother committed suicide, what is now important in her life, and how can she ever be “normal” again. Brady is the husband and father of Eve and he now has to take care of himself and take care of Eve.
What I took away from this book is how much a person is taken for granted. A mother who takes care of her family seems unappreciated, a father who works hard to provide for his family seem unappreciated, and the daughter who is just enjoying life, learning how to manage life may seem to not appreciate anyone. Yet when one of those people are no longer involved in your life you realize how much you need them, miss them, and how much you need them.
I finished the book and thought about the characters, the family, and their story. Eve, Maddy, and Brady stayed in my heart long after I finished their story. This is a debut book by an author that is now on my must-read list.
Engaging and relatable!
I Liked My Life was an emotional and memorable reading experience for me. A mother is dead, in limbo, but still able to gently influence her family’s thoughts and actions as they try to process their new normal. It’s a mystery, an emotion-stirrer, and full of thought-provoking scenes related to grief and how families move forward…or don’t. It wasn’t a tearjerker for me and that surprised me quite a bit, but I’m definitely glad I finally read it. I’m still shocked this was the author’s debut novel. Check it out (if you haven’t already).
This book first caught my eye as part of a “how to market your hard-to-market book” article – the author was interviewed, and I found her so engaging, I had to give her book a try. If you’ve been avoiding “I Liked My Life” because of the suicide issue, please take a second look! A unique premise, characters that are real and heart-breaking – this is a true laugh-and-cry book. If not for one major “why didn’t she do this” question, I would give this book 5 stars – a moving, uplifting read!
A deep and personal story with enough twists to keep you hooked. It was a lesson in how to write real relationships in the modern context and therefore helpful to a writer.
Anyone who has lost someone close (who hasn’t) could find interest, insight and even solace from this book. Grief is such a deeply personal experience we all share and yet find so hard to share.
There are three main characters (one dead) and you find yourself rooting for each of them equally, even when they are at odds. This is convincing fiction I would recommend.
Maddy Starling is dead after plunging off the roof of the library, 4 stories above ground. Both Brady, Maddy’s husband, and Eve, her 16 (soon to be 17) year old daughter are devastated and are searching for answers as to why Maddy would commit suicide.
Maddy tries to whisper encouragement and suggestions to Brady and Eve on how to continue life without her. She chooses Rory to tutor Eve in the hope that Brady and Rory will fall for each other. Both Brady and Eve hear Maddy’s voice in their thoughts, and they struggle to find each other and build their father/daughter relationship. They both read journal entries that Maddy wrote, trying to gain insight.
The characters also struggle with other relationships-between friends, boyfriend, aunts, siblings, parents, etc. This highlights the fragility of relationships.
This is a story of loss, survival, love, and redemption. I enjoyed this unique story.
#ILikedMyLife #AbbyFabiaschi
A truly spectacular listen. Life, death, anger, forgiveness, kindness, life lessons, unexpected consequences, how our actions impact others, dealing with our emotions, mental health, a wonderful loving mother and wife, a man who is beyond successful in business, but woefully clueless in all aspects of his life, a wise beyond her years daughter, neighbored gossip, and so much more. Beautifully written and narrated. Do not skip this book.
I loved this book! Telling the story from three perspectives helped illustrate how Maddie’s death affected each character. Don’t be mislead by thinking it will be a sad book, it us not. Instead it is hopeful as each character grows. Maddie a priviledged middle age wife commits suicide just days before her daughter turns 17. Her husband, a CFO of a fortune 500 company is harried executive working too long hours to really know his daughter. Together they findbthemselves in this nightmare. Why did she do it? No note, no indication, nothing, just gone. Through their grief they examine just what role theynplayed in Maddie’s unhappiness. I highly reccomend this book.