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mindforbooks 's review for:
Before I Let Go
by Kennedy Ryan
challenging
emotional
slow-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
“Grief is a grind. It is the work of breathing and waking and rising and moving through a world that feels emptier. A gaping hole has been torn into your existence, and everyone around you just walks right past it like it’s not even there. But all you can do is stand and stare.”
Oh this was a tough read, I mean it’s Kennedy Ryan and she needs to rip your heart out of your chest before she restores it. It’s her way! 😀
Yasmen and Josiah’s story is heartbreaking, and at times very frustrating, but as with a lot of Kennedy Ryan books it also feels very much like real life. There aren’t easy fixes for living life, it’s messy, and mistakes are often made, and sometimes fixing those mistakes can feel impossible.
There were so many hurt feelings in the Wade family, and a lot of those hurt feelings began after devastating events that left poor Yasmen drowning in grief. Her depression impacted everyone in her orbit and it caused a lot of resentment, and as an outsider that resentment was understandable though. We often read about people just moving on after life changing events, but not everyone manages that, a lot in fact can’t, and Before I Let Go really highlights how deep depression can turn life upside down, how with a lot of work life can move on again, and that sometimes, those that we are tied to will never let go, even when pushed to leave in the worst of ways.
“Depression,” she goes on, “is a liar. If it will tell you no one loves you, that you’re not good enough, that you’re a burden or, in the most extreme cases, better off dead, then it can certainly convince you that you’re better off without the man you love, and that, ultimately, he’s better off without you.”
One thing that was very frustrating right from the get go was Josiah’s reluctance to go to therapy, I mean things were so bad that it’s unlikely that it would have magically helped them as a couple but I also feel like things wouldn’t have escalated to an actual divorce. I think a separation was likely needed but that could have been mediated with a therapist and may not of hurt so many people in the process. That’s not what happened though, and I think him not going to therapy made it impossible to blame either Yasmen or Josiah for how things ended up. Josiah going to therapy to show Kassim it was normal while he himself holds no stock in it was actually top tier parenting though and in the end was a massive help to him and definitely helped him understand Yasmen better.
This book is ultimately a book about navigating grief. We all know that grief isn’t an easy thing to work through, sometimes we cause destruction in our grief, sometimes we bury it and shut down, sometimes it buries us. The important thing to remember is that all forms of dealing with it are valid and there is nothing wrong with looking for outside help. This book is very pro looking outside help in fact and I loved the pro therapy sentiment.
Seeing Yasmen and Josiah work through that pain and get to the other side was so special, and I felt so proud of them both at the end!
“I’ve fallen in love with the warrior woman who walked through fire, the one who came through stronger, reshaped by sorrow, reformed by grief, reborn in joy.”
This is also a book about friendship, Soledad and Hendrix were real ride or dies and I can’t wait to read both their stories and how these women support each other through thick and thin!
Oh this was a tough read, I mean it’s Kennedy Ryan and she needs to rip your heart out of your chest before she restores it. It’s her way! 😀
Yasmen and Josiah’s story is heartbreaking, and at times very frustrating, but as with a lot of Kennedy Ryan books it also feels very much like real life. There aren’t easy fixes for living life, it’s messy, and mistakes are often made, and sometimes fixing those mistakes can feel impossible.
There were so many hurt feelings in the Wade family, and a lot of those hurt feelings began after devastating events that left poor Yasmen drowning in grief. Her depression impacted everyone in her orbit and it caused a lot of resentment, and as an outsider that resentment was understandable though. We often read about people just moving on after life changing events, but not everyone manages that, a lot in fact can’t, and Before I Let Go really highlights how deep depression can turn life upside down, how with a lot of work life can move on again, and that sometimes, those that we are tied to will never let go, even when pushed to leave in the worst of ways.
“Depression,” she goes on, “is a liar. If it will tell you no one loves you, that you’re not good enough, that you’re a burden or, in the most extreme cases, better off dead, then it can certainly convince you that you’re better off without the man you love, and that, ultimately, he’s better off without you.”
One thing that was very frustrating right from the get go was Josiah’s reluctance to go to therapy, I mean things were so bad that it’s unlikely that it would have magically helped them as a couple but I also feel like things wouldn’t have escalated to an actual divorce. I think a separation was likely needed but that could have been mediated with a therapist and may not of hurt so many people in the process. That’s not what happened though, and I think him not going to therapy made it impossible to blame either Yasmen or Josiah for how things ended up. Josiah going to therapy to show Kassim it was normal while he himself holds no stock in it was actually top tier parenting though and in the end was a massive help to him and definitely helped him understand Yasmen better.
This book is ultimately a book about navigating grief. We all know that grief isn’t an easy thing to work through, sometimes we cause destruction in our grief, sometimes we bury it and shut down, sometimes it buries us. The important thing to remember is that all forms of dealing with it are valid and there is nothing wrong with looking for outside help. This book is very pro looking outside help in fact and I loved the pro therapy sentiment.
Seeing Yasmen and Josiah work through that pain and get to the other side was so special, and I felt so proud of them both at the end!
“I’ve fallen in love with the warrior woman who walked through fire, the one who came through stronger, reshaped by sorrow, reformed by grief, reborn in joy.”
This is also a book about friendship, Soledad and Hendrix were real ride or dies and I can’t wait to read both their stories and how these women support each other through thick and thin!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Grief
Moderate: Child death, Infertility, Miscarriage, Suicidal thoughts, Pregnancy, Abandonment