The Weight of a Moment is a beautiful story about the fragility of life and the redemptive power of friendship. Nick Sterling, a Fenwick Prize winning journalist, can’t move beyond a tragedy caused by one of his articles. Tom Corbett, a successful antiques dealer, is humiliated and shamed by an internet video that damages his business, marriage, and family. After their blunders, one shameful and … and one fatal, the two men run from their pasts, meet in a small Pennsylvania town, and, despite—or because of—the most unusual circumstances, help each other find redemption. Together, they make an unusual discovery that changes everything, one that unwittingly puts them back onto the national stage. Joined by fate, each man’s journey is remarkable in its own right and only exceeded by their shared journey. In a profound final scene, Nick confronts his tragic mistake, asks for forgiveness, and the novel’s title, The Weight of a Moment, is fully realized. Contrasting elements: big cities and small towns, modern and historic, priceless and valuable, compassion and condemnation, add to the richness of the tale. Critically acclaimed, this second novel from the author of Skyscraper of a Man is a brilliant sophomore effort.
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What a superbly written book!!! I really enjoyed this from start to finish. Michael Bowe is a fabulous storyteller and his words flow flawlessly and the characters were memorable and very layered. This is a story about two men who each are running from events that have changed their lives. Tom thought he had a great life til he found out his wife had been cheating on him,yes he knew things hadn’t been perfect but he didn’t see this coming. Still reeling from shannon’s deciption and not in a good place he blows up on a bunch of college kids and it goes viral and everyone’s pissed.Nick is a top newspaper writer known for his articles and well respected.
But when one of his stories inadvertently gets a police officer killed his life spins out of control! The guilt eats away at him and he self medicates with booze and drugs and when his wife leaves him because she can’t keep watching him destroying his life,he hits bottom real fast.Tom has inherited the family farm and goes their to get his life in order and when Tom and Nick start up a friendship not only does it help them to heal together but secrets are uncovered and ghosts from the past are layed to rest and oh yeah theirs a dinosaur involved too! I highly recommend this book! Until next time Luv’s
I believed that most lifetimes could be summed up by ten to twenty moments,meaningful little snippets that contained both the best and worst of one’s character and expriences. Awesome ending quote
Outstanding story of overcoming the past with Grace, compassion and forgiveness. This is a beautifully written story and I recommend it.
I had heard such good things about this book, reviewers were saying it’s profound and memorable. I completely agree with them. This is the book I’ve read by Michael Bowe, but I intend to read more by this author. It is a story about a gifted journalist Nick, and his good friend Tom who both because of one mistake have their lives completely changed, not just their lives but others around them. It’s also about the analogy find they make of discovering the remains of a dinosaur, just as his secret has been hidden for ages, so have some secrets of theirs remained hidden and never dealt with. One of my favorite quotes is, “What role does the past play in our daily lives? Is the past basically like hardened concrete within our brains, beyond shaping or correction? How should we manage our past? It says so much about the plot of this book. This is a story of guilt, humiliation, friendship, revenge, forgiveness, and redemption. It is beautifully written, and I really enjoyed it! Check it out for a great read!
Michael Bowe reached out for me on Goodreads and asked I would do an ARC for him. The way he talked about the book, made me want to read it. How could I refuse?? I couldn’t, so I said I would do it for him.
I was so happy when I got the book on the day of anniversary. Such a great present. I started reading the book that same night. I have to say, I was NOT disappointed!!! It was a great read!! It actually made you sit down and think about life in general. I could really relate to the main Character in some ways since we both had the same life, kind of. I did not write like he did. I have to say this again, this book really makes you think. Some parts , I got so emotional that I had to put the book down and have my little ” breakdown”. This book has a little bit of sadness, a little bit of anger and a whole lot of love. Family dynamics was great. There was a paragraph that made me think a lot. This is the paragraph
“In every lifetime, sometimes more than once, a circumstance occurs that opens the heart to its fullest measure, where significant, meaningful change is possible, where failures and shortcomings can be absolved, and a person can be reborn. Some are healed or renewed by the experience, while others fail to recognize the opportunity and it passes.”
I cannot express enough, you HAVE TO READ this wonderful book.
This was an ARC, in exchange for an honest review.
THE WEIGHT OF A MOMENT by Michael Bowe pleasantly surprised me. This is not the type of book that I normally read, but I have obviously been missing out on some great stories.
The book starts out with Nick Sterling, a prize-winning journalist. Then it switches to Tom Corbett’s life. The two stories do not come together until about a third of the way through the book. The book explores how one incident or event can change lives for the worse and how fragile relationships can be. However, it is much more than a look at the tragedies in these two men’s lives; it is also about getting beyond the humiliation and grief, moving forward and going through a healing process.
This novel was well-written and drew me into the lives of the two main characters. Nick and Tom had distinct voices and both felt very real. Their motivations were believable and the relationships between the characters were not contrived. Their stories move between large cities and small towns, between being at the peak of their careers and at the bottom.
Themes explored in the novel include tragic mistakes, forgiveness, domestic violence, family relationships, social media, drug use, alcohol overindulgence, murder, suicide, friendship, compassion, condemnation and much more.
This story is not one that I will forget and I recommend this novel to those readers that enjoy well-written, profound and moving stories.
Thanks to Michael Bowe for a copy of this novel and the opportunity to provide an honest review. Opinions are mine alone and are not biased in any way.