A review by erickabdz
We Now Return to Regular Life by Martin Wilson

4.0

A woman walks by on the sidewalk in a puffy coat. I think, if that woman watches the interview, she’ll know who we are, she’ll know all the horrible truths about our lives. She’ll think, what an incredible story, and then flip the channel and get on with her life. I think how amazing that is, and how unfair.

This book broke my heart. Repeatedly. Then throw it into the sea and made a funeral in its honor.

[b: We Now Return to Regular Life|28169304|We Now Return to Regular Life|Martin Wilson|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1478584177s/28169304.jpg|48183737] begins in the middle of lots of things; begins in a "happy ending" where Sam Walsh returns after being missing for three years. Except, this is not Sam's story: this is about his big sister, Beth, and his friend, Josh, and how an horrible thing can alter all your life. He see Sam's hurt and trauma and recovery from their eyes, and we also learn about love and grief and family.

This book brings some serious questions, works with the morality of losing, and then dealing with the trauma of an important person in your life. Until what point should I grieve? How much time should their happiness be above my own? Does moving on make me a bad person? Should I forget all the bad things this person did because something awful happened to them? All this questions are dealt in this book, and while we don't get the answer (like in real life) they are an important part of the journey. I felt sometimes uncomfortable with Beth's narrative, because she wasn't ~supportive enough by my standards, but it made me ask myself, what would I do in her place? What would I do if I knew somebody's pain was bigger than mine, but my own heart ache would not go away? Those are important questions and make you reflect in your own hypocrisy and moral high ground.

I also really liked Sam; as Beth, he was very compelling character and you really could see his struggle. I could not understand it, but I could try to and it made sense, all the mess in his heart. I liked that the author did not make him a "perfect victim", someone that we had to sympathize with. Sam was flawed, before and after, and he still deserved compassion, didn't deserve any of what happened to him.

I loved this book because it was real and raw, and because I loved all the support and love that came from the adults; their love was imperfect, like everything is, but is always present. I especially loved that this book demanded an introspection of my own values and an analysis of our society as a whole. The only things I did not like are part of the realness of the story, of how you could never have all the answers; but it went through some important topics without given them much importance and they were not brought back again

Spoiler

like... the thing with the boys. And Josh asking him to stop and Sam not stopping

. Some topics needed a better closure.

Overall, this was a heart-wrenching story that raises some important questions and deals with relevant subjects, but finally has one message for us: hope. I really liked Martin Wilson story-telling and I'm certainly looking for more of his books in the future.