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A review by babblingsofabibliophile
Not Our First Rodeo by Madison Wright
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
4.0
This was my first book by Madison and it was such a heartbreakingly moving read. It was a powerful look at grief, mental illness, and healing.
I don’t always connect with marriage in trouble stories (I’m not married and sometimes it’s hard for me to get the mindset of a marriage in trouble when I’ve never had to experience anything like that), but I didn’t have that issue here. While Elsie and Beau’s marriage being in trouble was a main part of this story, there was so much more to it than that. Elsie has been struggling with her mental health and thought that the best thing for everyone was to push Beau away during her struggles. It was hard to watch Elsie go through what she did, but it was especially hard for me because I could relate to Elsie a lot. I could relate to how she could let her anxiety overwhelm her at times and feeling like she needed to deal with it all alone. But, I admire her so much for being self-aware enough to see that she needed to work on herself before she could be the best partner she could be to Beau. I loved watching Beau relearn Elsie during this story! He thought he knew her so well, but seeing him slowly learn that the things he’s seen about her all along were shields she kept up to protect herself was amazing. He reframed the things he knew about Elsie so that they fit the new person he discovered, and I love that he accepted all of those things immediately and altered how he treated her and spoke to her to accommodate the things he learned. Beau was a quiet person, but that didn’t make him any less strong or willing to fight for Elsie and their marriage. I liked that Beau not only didn’t place all the blame for their separation on Elsie, but he also was able to take some of the blame on himself, too. He was always adamant–especially to Elsie–that they were equals in their marriage, both when it was good and when it was hard. It was so moving to watch Elsie learn more about herself and her mental health struggles in this story, but it was also amazing to see her open up to the people she loved most after keeping them in the dark for so many years. Once she let them in, she was able to help herself even more because she had the support she needed and deserved in fighting her demons every day.
This was such a beautiful story about grief, love, acceptance, and healing! Madison really made you feel everything in this story, and her characters were so poignant and well-rounded. I loved seeing Elsie and Beau find their way to healing, but also find their way back to love and back to each other.
Thank you, Madison, Victory Editing, and NetGalley, for providing me with an ARC!
I don’t always connect with marriage in trouble stories (I’m not married and sometimes it’s hard for me to get the mindset of a marriage in trouble when I’ve never had to experience anything like that), but I didn’t have that issue here. While Elsie and Beau’s marriage being in trouble was a main part of this story, there was so much more to it than that. Elsie has been struggling with her mental health and thought that the best thing for everyone was to push Beau away during her struggles. It was hard to watch Elsie go through what she did, but it was especially hard for me because I could relate to Elsie a lot. I could relate to how she could let her anxiety overwhelm her at times and feeling like she needed to deal with it all alone. But, I admire her so much for being self-aware enough to see that she needed to work on herself before she could be the best partner she could be to Beau. I loved watching Beau relearn Elsie during this story! He thought he knew her so well, but seeing him slowly learn that the things he’s seen about her all along were shields she kept up to protect herself was amazing. He reframed the things he knew about Elsie so that they fit the new person he discovered, and I love that he accepted all of those things immediately and altered how he treated her and spoke to her to accommodate the things he learned. Beau was a quiet person, but that didn’t make him any less strong or willing to fight for Elsie and their marriage. I liked that Beau not only didn’t place all the blame for their separation on Elsie, but he also was able to take some of the blame on himself, too. He was always adamant–especially to Elsie–that they were equals in their marriage, both when it was good and when it was hard. It was so moving to watch Elsie learn more about herself and her mental health struggles in this story, but it was also amazing to see her open up to the people she loved most after keeping them in the dark for so many years. Once she let them in, she was able to help herself even more because she had the support she needed and deserved in fighting her demons every day.
This was such a beautiful story about grief, love, acceptance, and healing! Madison really made you feel everything in this story, and her characters were so poignant and well-rounded. I loved seeing Elsie and Beau find their way to healing, but also find their way back to love and back to each other.
Thank you, Madison, Victory Editing, and NetGalley, for providing me with an ARC!