From New York Times bestselling author Catherine Ryan Hyde comes an emotional novel of how one man’s life changes forever when he rediscovers his ability to feel the pain of others.Something has been asleep in forty-year-old cattle rancher Aiden Delacorte for a long time. It all comes back in a rush during a hunting trip, when he’s suddenly attuned to the animals around him, feeling their pain … him, feeling their pain and fear as if it were his own. But the newfound sensitivity of Aiden’s “wake up” has its price. He can no longer sleepwalk through life, holding everyone at arm’s length. As he struggles to cope with a trait he’s buried since childhood, Aiden falls in love with Gwen, a single mother whose young son bears a burden of his own.
Sullen and broken from his experiences with an abusive father, Milo has turned to acting out in violent and rebellious ways. Aiden can feel the boy’s pain, as well as that of his victims. Now he and Milo must sift through their pasts to find empathy with the innocent as well as the guilty, to come to terms with their deepest fears, and to finally discover the compassionate heart of a family.
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A story about the re-awakening of an empathy with animals in Aiden Delacorte as he witnesses the struggle of his girlfriend’s son, Milo, trying to overcame the pain of an abusive father. Another deeply emotive masterpiece from Catherine Ryan Hyde.
I love anything this author writes. She writes about real people, memorable animals in a setting anyone can relate to.
A good story. Outside the box, but good
I really loved this book. I don’t think I’ve read one by Catherine Ryan Hyde that I haven’t loved. The empathy that Aiden feels is powerful and not something he wants, but it is the key to so much. Milo is a deeply troubled boy, but how can Aiden help him? You will become engrossed in the characters’ stories and will be rooting for a happy ending, but not sure how much of one you’ll get. I would definitely recommend this book.
The Wake Up is the story of a man who feels so much, his empathy and his sensibility makes him feel more than regular people, making his life miserable, in a small town where people keep thinking he’s gone mad as they can’t understand him at all.
Feeling the need to change his line of work as it was really not making him feel good anymore, his life takes a turn for new things and new people even new love.
Aiden opens his home to a family in need, he didn’t expect to find someone with a similar story as him, making him feel more eager to understand and help this family to finally put all behind. meeting a boy that looks so much like him. brings so many memories to Aiden making him more aware of his past then ever.. a boy that will bring joy and a lot of trouble to him and his life.
Gwen is starting all over again as her marriage ended in a not pleasant way. her husband did terrible things, making her feel the need to leave to protect herself, her family and her son.
The Wake up is a story of second chances, people suffer a lot of things and traumas when they’re just kids and this was the case for Aiden and Milo. they both had a rough start in life but life has a funny way of bringing people together so they can finally heal that wound.
One of the things that I really love about The wake up is how Aiden and Milo’s life eventually starts to connect, understanding each other more as the days and months go by. the patient Aiden had, the love Gwen and Aiden try to give over and over again to Milo was beautiful and it left me thinking that no matter how hard life has treated you there is always a light at the end of the tunnel.
This was a great story, I really love how Catherine Ryan always makes us feel so many emotions but always leaving us with a sweet taste in our hearts.
What an interesting topic for a story – the ability to feel the feelings of others. I really enjoyed the strangers to friends theme – including Aiden being supportive of the single mother, not trying to control Milo. A pleasant read for your next weekend getaway to the cabin!
I love all her books. They each have an individual unique story, told in her special insightful way. The characters are drawn so well, you become enmeshed in they’re struggles and are rooting for them. I just love love love her descriptive way of bringing the characters to life. I will read every book she writes !!
A wonderful ten star novel with elements of mystery, suspense, love, and betrayal.
It is the story of two women who survive a 911 type explosion in a Chicago office building. The impact is strong, as it deeply affects both the women and their families.
The story has many threads beautifully balanced by skilled writing leading to an unexpected conclusion. There are lies and liars on every level of this story, not just the obvious. A perfect book and title!
This novel was so very different from any other book I have read. As always, Catherine Ryan Hyde always pours her heart into her writing. After I was able to accept the premise of the story, I enjoyed it very much!
I love this author and have read nearly all her books. This story developed more slowly than her other books and I nearly gave up on finishing it, however, when the main character’s past begin to emerge, the story improved.
You will love this book and you will go out and get every other book she wrote and you will love them too.
Favorite Quotes:
He wished he had a better bead on the greater worries, but they eluded him. Just shadows. Ghosts. Unknowable and indistinct. And yet so very . . . there.
He felt utterly unequipped to go home. Forcing himself back into a world that had put him in some role of authority felt akin to turning a puppy loose on a busy highway.
Aiden watched her go. As he did, it formed in his head, wordlessly, that she was a gift being given to him. Something rich and good coming into his life to make up for Milo and the rest of this mess. To give him back a little of the peace that was being stripped down and hauled away.
It’s a turning-point moment in people’s lives, when you look yourself in the face like that and realize that who you are, and who you become, and what you do seem to rely on a combination of factors that are partly out of your control.
She had been slimmer and better dressed before Grandpa died last year, but some thread within her had been working its way loose since then.
It’s like he drew all the curtains and I can’t see in. I know he must be in there somewhere, but I feel like I haven’t even seen him for two years… This little missing person.
My Review:
I am intensely frustrated with my inability to articulate the supreme level of expertise, quality, and poignancy of this compellingly written story. I was immediately captivated by the superlative writing and remained riveted and enthralled with every smartly honed sentence. Written from a third-person POV and crossing several timelines in memory, the ingenious and emotive storyline was highly eventful and densely packed with heart-squeezing, throat-burning and eye-stinging observations and staggering insights. Her well-crafted storylines were powerfully detailed, thoughtfully plotted, slyly observant, and pulled sharp visuals that kept the characters moving smoothly behind my eyes. The story was brilliantly paced, well-constructed, and flawlessly executed. I was totally mesmerized and continued to ruminate over the characters and story long after putting my Kindle to rest and attempting sleep. I had also saved four pages of favorite quotes. Catherine Ryan Hyde has mad skills and a new fangirl. I. Am. In. Awe. Five-Stars is not enough, it deserves at least ten!
My favorite Catherine Ryan Hyde book.
This author never disappoints
I have always loved her books, she has a very straight forward and honest way of portraying her characters and this story is no exception.
Aiden Delacorte is a 40-year old cattle rancher who sometimes has problems relating to people and one day while on a hunting trip, he “Wakes up”. After years of suppressing feelings he has always had, which rush back to him after shooting a big Buck, and he senses the fear and pain that he has inflicted with that action. Aiden is an Empath with the capacity to place oneself in another’s position. After that experience he makes a decision that will alienate him even more from his peers.
When Aiden meets a woman, Gwen with two children with whom he would like to share his life, things change for better and worse. Gwen’s daughter is loving and excepting, but her son, Milo who had been abused by his father, has issues that run deep. Aiden sees himself a bit in Milo’s actions and the two of them try and work out their fears of and for each other, through different therapies and for Milo, just knowing Aiden is there for him.
Wonderful character development and an interesting story to follow, this is a book well worth reading.
I would like to thank NetGalley and Lake Union Publishing for the ARC of this book.