Reviews with content warning for Alcoholism - Someday, Maybe

I - wow. This book is a book everyone should read once, and maybe once again when they are experiencing any type of grief from loss of a loved one. Onyi Nwabineli somehow put indescribable feelings into the words that could closest describe them and that in and of itself is a gift to the world, and I truly believe it will be a comfort to those in similar situations.

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ttnnllrr's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional hopeful reflective sad medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.5

This book is about our main character, Eve, and her life after discovering her husband’s dead body after he took his own life on New Year’s Eve. Nwabineli really shows the reader the true, raw grief of losing a loved one, in ways I’ve never seen before. It’s horrible, awful, and gut wrenching, but so incredibly insightful into one of many ways grief can transform us.

At the beginning of the book, Eve spends much of her time in bed and the rest throwing up in the toilet. She binge drinks and takes pills to keep her from the waking world, only to be haunted with nightmares about her husband Q, and her guilt for being unable to save him.
We witness a loving, close knit family surrounding and supporting Eve every step of the way, no matter how many times she tries to push them away or cling too close.

Eve’s mother in law, Aspen, who had already shown hatred for her simply because she is Nigerian and not the ‘rich white girl’ Aspen always wanted Q to marry, blames Q’s death on Eve and will not rest until what remains of Eve’s life is set aflame.

Then, everything changes.

Eve gets in an accident and discovers that she is pregnant with Q’s baby. She must now come to terms with her future as a widow and a single mother, and get her shit together for her kid.

This book was hard to read at times, the grief truly just oozed off the page and Eve’s decision were sometimes hard to get behind. Another reason was the fighting between Eve and her sister, Gloria, because while I understand, I also don’t know how you get mad at someone who had just lost the love of their life to something so brutal as suicide. Like I said, it was frustrating at times, but I also think that’s what makes it a great representation of grief. It’s never meant to be light and easy, it’s hard and ugly and at times violent.

I really appreciated the ending as well, because while it’s not quite a happy ending, per se, it’s clear that it’s headed in that direction at a realistic pace.

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catwhisperer's review against another edition

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emotional reflective sad medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes

4.75

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mariahelen's review against another edition

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challenging emotional sad medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

Best book I've read this year

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currently_introverting's review against another edition

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emotional sad slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

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trinixglo's review against another edition

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emotional sad medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

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epaige37's review against another edition

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challenging emotional sad medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.75

Writing was a 5 but I’m reserving 5s for books I absolutely loved. This one was really well done and nearly there. Huge trigger warning to suicide in this book as the story centers around a woman who loses her husband to suicide and depicts her grief journey. I listened to the audiobook version and loved how well Adjoa Andoh narrated this book. She was truly acting and added so much to the emotional scenes. The writing was amazing and I loved the depictions of grief and the realistic portrayal of loss during this book. I’m lucky (knock on wood) that I haven’t experienced a lot of loss in my life, but this book made me think and consider so much more about grief and some of the relationships around me. It made me think about those who are in my corner and in my circle and the bounds of our relationships.

Content Warnings

shoshannamb's review against another edition

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dark emotional hopeful reflective sad medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

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