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Graphic: Death, Misogyny, Car accident, Alcohol
Moderate: Body shaming, Confinement, Drug use, Dementia, Grief, Pregnancy, Classism
Minor: Mental illness, Miscarriage, Murder
Plot: Two writers compete for a chance to write the memoir of an heiress who disappeared decades before.
Overall Rating: 4/5
TW: cursing, sexual content (3 M/F open door scenes that can be skipped easy enough), alcohol
Graphic: Sexual content
Moderate: Cursing, Death
Minor: Drug use, Kidnapping, Alcohol
Graphic: Death, Emotional abuse, Misogyny, Sexism, Sexual content, Blood, Grief, Car accident, Death of parent, Alcohol, Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Body shaming, Bullying, Cancer, Cursing, Eating disorder, Fatphobia, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Violence, Medical content, Medical trauma, Classism
Minor: Animal death, Confinement, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Infertility, Infidelity, Miscarriage, Physical abuse, Suicidal thoughts, Terminal illness, Forced institutionalization, Dementia, Kidnapping, Suicide attempt, Pregnancy, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, Abandonment, Alcohol
Moderate: Mental illness, Sexual content, Toxic relationship, Grief
Minor: Drug use, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse
and the ending was underwhelming.
Graphic: Sexual content
Moderate: Death, Grief, Car accident, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Pregnancy
Minor: Drug use, Mental illness, Abandonment
Graphic: Death, Sexual content, Blood, Grief, Medical trauma, Stalking, Death of parent, Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Infidelity, Toxic relationship, Medical content, Kidnapping, Pregnancy, Alcohol
Graphic: Death of parent
Moderate: Death
Minor: Confinement, Drug use, Infertility, Mental illness, Miscarriage, Panic attacks/disorders, Forced institutionalization, Dementia, Pregnancy, Abandonment
Moderate: Animal death, Cancer, Child death, Cursing, Death, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Infidelity, Mental illness, Misogyny, Sexism, Sexual content, Terminal illness, Toxic relationship, Violence, Medical content, Grief, Stalking, Car accident, Death of parent, Pregnancy, Abandonment, Alcohol, Classism
I’ve seen some folks disputing whether this book is a capital R Romance because it doesn’t focus that much on the relationship between the main couple. I would argue that this it is, and more than that it’s a love story.
Love and loving relationships come in many forms. The love between a parent and child, between siblings, and friends. These relationships shape us as much if not more than romantic ones.
Great Big Beautiful Life explores those many kinds of love through the story of a tragic family history and two people trying to navigate their careers, grief, and love in a world heavily impacted by the choices of the people in their past.
Time and again we see people making mistakes, hurting each other, but also showing hidden depths of love and devotion. We are shown how grief is an aspect of love not its antithesis.
But most of all, it’s about learning from the mistakes and lost chances of the past. From the tragedies of our families’ stories. Doing the hard work and to repair what can was broken, and build something better. That sometimes loving someone means fighting to stay with them.
I would recommend this book to fans of stories about famous people’s tragic lives, anyone who’s ready to think about the lost of a loved one to age and/or mental degradation, and love. Yeah, fans of love.
Graphic: Grief, Abandonment
Minor: Drug use, Infidelity, Terminal illness, Toxic relationship, Forced institutionalization, Dementia, Abortion, Death of parent, Murder