New York Times bestselling author Sawyer Bennett has written her most gripping and poignant tale yet. Provocatively heart-breaking, audaciously irreverent and romantically fulfilling, The Hard Truth About Sunshine exposes just how very thin the line is between a full life and an empty existence. An angry, bitter amputee. An optimist losing her eyesight. A dying kid. A suicidal thief. Four people … suicidal thief.
Four people with nothing in common but their destination.
Despite having narrowly escaped death’s clutches, Christopher Barlow is grateful for nothing. His capacity to love has been crushed. He hates everyone and everything, completely unable to see past the gray stain of misery that coats his perception of the world. It’s only after he involuntarily joins a band of depressed misfits who are struggling to overcome their own problems, does Christopher start to re-evaluate his lot in life.
What could they possibly learn from one another? How could they possibly help each other to heal? And the question that Christopher asks himself over and over again… can he learn to love again?
He’s about to find out as he embarks upon a cross country trip with a beautiful woman who is going blind, a boy with terminal cancer, and an abuse victim who can’t decide whether she wants to live or die.
They will encounter adventure, thrills, loss and love.
And within their travels they will learn the greatest lesson of all.
The hard truth about sunshine…
Warning: This book deals with some tough issues including suicide and sexual abuse.
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This is THE BOOK that will stay with me for a long time. There are so many feels in this that still need to be sorted through it will take some time but this will be at the top of my recommendations list. Four people start a cross country trip after being in the same therapy group. This is an extension of the group and what starts out as something to get out of the rest of therapy, turns into a lesson in life. A boy with cancer, a veteran with anger issues, a suicidal woman, and a woman who has been given a diagnosis that will ultimately leave her blind. Together they are traveling across the country to get to the Pacific Ocean but on the way they learn more about each other and themselves than they planned. This book had me laughing at times and crying and ultimately left me knowing I will definitely be buying and sharing this book with others.
This one is highly recommended to EVERYONE!
I had the pleasure of listening to the audio book. It was great! I highly recommend it!
People who don’t think romance novels have substance will find themselves chagrined by this unforgettable tale full of heart and soul. When an eclectic group of individuals who lives are far from perfect bond during an emotionally intense road trip readers will find themselves put through the wringer alongside them every step of the way.
Christopher lost his leg and parts of his hand in the war and it’s left him bitter and alone as the life he ran away from now wants nothing to do with him. When a bar fight puts him in mandatory counseling he forms an unexpected bond with people who are just as damaged as him. His compatriots in pain are varied in age and issues but they all just click as they travel the countryside, finding commonality and affection. Christopher’s antagonistic attitude is tempered by Jillian who’s going blind and has a heart condition that could kill her at any time, but who’s a bundle of light and serenity that he can’t help being drawn to. As they form a fragile and loving bond, time becomes the enemy of them all as the youngest among them is dying of cancer. Connor sees this trip as an opportunity to live before he dies and it’s his journey that broke my heart the most. He’s wise beyond his years and his presence brings the others out of their shells as each moment they’re all together is magical. The most bitter of them all is Barb, a survivor of sexual abuse who longs to commit suicide. She, like Christopher, is full of rage and it takes her far longer to let down her walls and be vulnerable. Each one of them left me hopeful at times, but when tragedy befalls one of them it left me shaking.
From start to finish this was a tough tale to read, but sooo worth the time invested. The pain these individuals were going through was easy to relate to, especially as I’m a quadriplegic, and I ached with them as the miles passed. Their unlikely friendship was heartwarming, and heart-wrenching, but ultimately uplifting for those left behind. The romance between Christopher and Jillian was subtle but no less powerful as he changed in her presence, became a better man. Friendship is what this story is about though and on that level it crackles. The ending isn’t conventional, like the story as a whole, but it is reaffirming. Love and friendship, random moments of joy, are what life’s all about…and this memorable group of people did a whole lot of living and it’s was has me recommending this book wholeheartedly.
Simply brilliant
Heartbreakingly poignant and soul shattering. My emotions are fractured after listening to this story but I need to write a few words. Sawyer Bennett has delivered a brilliant, emotional story of hope and loss, of pain and courage. I was determined not to read this book, well not anytime soon, but instead of reading it I listened to it on audio. This book is confronting on numerous levels but I am eternally grateful that I found the courage to listen. The Truth About Sunshine is burned into my soul. Thank you Sawyer Bennett
The Hard Truth About Sunshine by Sawyer Bennett is a standalone contemporary fiction novel with romance. It’s told from the single point of view of the main character, Christopher Barlow, a young, bitter, amputee war veteran. He reluctantly takes a road trip with three members of his group therapy – a program he was court ordered to take part in after a violent altercation.
Christopher isn’t the only one on the trip dealing with issues. Everyone has their own struggles. Jillian is losing her eyesight and has a heart condition. Barb is suicidal and hates the world. Connor is a teenager dying of cancer without much time left. The road trip is for Connor to experience some things on his bucket list.
As they all travel together bonds are formed, lives are changed, and nobody is the same by the end of the trip. It’s an emotional journey of friendship, growth, truth, understanding, second chances, and new beginnings. Although there were several tough subjects addressed, the overall tone was not heavy. There was plenty of wit and humor throughout the story. I thoroughly enjoyed it.
~ 4.5 Stars ~
“Now I have to question my own strength and whether I can actually accept the truth about sunshine.”
Let’s get this out of the way first. If you are an avid Sawyer Bennett fan like I am, then you’ll know just based off the blurb that this is completely different than what she normally writes. All I can tell you is that you need to go into this with an open mind and just fully experience it. Yes, it’s different. Push that out of you head and just feel. I will be honest and tell you that it took me a while to fully connect to the characters. I’m talking full investment. I was struggling with that at first but I was determined to move forward and it was absolutely the best decision I could have made.
The Hard Truth About Sunshine is raw, honest and heartbreaking. It’s also inspirational and provides hope. In this book, four extremely different people that suffer from some tragic situation in their life, end up in a 12 week therapy session. The one thing that they have in common is pain and heartbreak. Each person’s story is dramatically different but these guys are bonded together in an attempt to not only heal themselves but each other.
This is told in Christopher’s POV and he’s a complete asshole but once you know his story, just like the rest, you understand why. Each person deals with situations that are very real and unfortunately very common in our world. You are forced to face situations and emotions that most people try to avoid. Those of us that have some sort of connection to any of their situations, will be shattered. Some will be uplifted afterwards. Some won’t.
What I enjoyed the most about this is that Sawyer didn’t try to deliver what she thought a reader would want. She kept true to the situations and put it all out there. The good, the bad and the ugly. While it did take me a really long time to connect, once it did, I was gone. Emotional overload and a balling mess. And after reading her acknowledgement, I’m even more impressed by how true Sawyer stayed to the inspiration that start this. Well done.
Wow… just wow. Sawyer wrote something so different… so drastically different than we have seen prior… something so poignant for what those who have served, those who have suffered, those who have faced unsurmountable odds and have come out stronger…
This was such a tale of hope… hope that life would get better… hope that even in the dark, there is light… hope that even those that think they are broken beyond repair, can rebuild.
As someone who lost a loved one to cancer, this touched me deeply.
As someone who lost a loved one who had served his country, only to commit suicide, this spoke to me.
As someone who has had those I care about abused, this broke my heart all over.
As someone who has family dealing with an incurable disease, this made finding a cure all the more important.
Sawyer wove this story with such grace, empathy, and hope. She gave us the read we didn’t know we needed. So thank you Sawyer, for reaching such an emotional level with me, at a time I really needed it.
I love Sawyer Bennett but this was too sad and irreverent for me.
Inspirational!
This book, just WOW!!! I had to take a few days to get my thoughts together after I read this book. It is unlike ANYTHING Sawyer Bennett has ever written, but totally in the best way possible!!! Anyone who follows my reviews knows I love Sawyer Bennett’s work hard!!! I love every word I’ve ever read of hers. But this particular book, well it kind of left me with a bit of a book hangover!!!! Yeah, it’s one of those!!!
I am in complete awe at the depth of this book. The characters are real and they are flawed. The Hard Truth About Sunshine explores some really tough subjects in a way that really makes the reader stop and think, and want to understand. This book is about so many things, but to this reader it is most of all about that oh so fragile thing, HOPE.
This is an absolute MUST READ, IMO, whether you are already a fan of Sawyer Bennett or have never read her before!!!!