Beauty in the Broken Places by Allison Pataki

Beauty in the Broken Places by Allison Pataki
Published by Random House ISBN 9780399591655 (Publication date- May 1st)
Hardcover, $26, 244 pages

Allison Pataki's moving memoir Beauty in the Broken Places opens with a foreward by Lee Woodruff, a writer whose journalist husband Bob Woodruff suffered a traumatic brain injury covering the Iraq War. Woodruff has experienced what Pataki is about to recount in her book- her life changing in an instant.

Dave and Allison are heading out for a lovely Hawaiian vacation four months before Allison is set to give birth to their baby. Dave has a grueling schedule as a third year resident, and Alli is preparing for the publication of her new historical novel.

While in flight, Dave turns to Allison and says he can't see out of his right eye. She sees that his pupil is severely dialated, and Dave has a stroke right there on the plane. Three medical professionals assist Dave, and the pilot lands the plane in Fargo, ND where Dave is rushed to a hospital.

Allison takes us on the frightening whirlwind of calling his parents, brothers and then her family. She spends the night alone watching as her strong, vibrant husband lies hooked up to machines keeping him alive, praying he will live.

Dave has suffered a severe stroke, and his road to recovery will be long and difficult. In addition to his physical impairments (she has to feed him, shave him, he has to learn to walk), he has short term memory loss.

He goes from a long stay at the hospital to a rehabilitation home, and finally home to the new apartment they had rented for when the baby came. Allison's family and friends were there for her, unpacking for her, shopping, and most importantly, praying for and with her, but most of the responsibility for helping Dave rests on her shoulders.

Allison's strong faith, a touchstone for her since childhood, plays a large role in the book. Her faith guides her, and when she sends out an email asking people to pray for her, she can feel the strength that those prayers gave her and Dave.

She also wrote a series of letters titled "Dear Dave" to her husband, detailing everything that was happening and everything that she was feeling. As a writer, this was how she coped.

When their baby Lilly is born, now Allison has to take care of Lilly and Dave. The strain is incredible, and Allison takes the reader along with her on this difficult journey. Her feelings of being overwhelmed leap off the page.

Allison also takes the reader through her and Dave's courtship in college, and they were only married for eighteen months when they were tested by Dave's stroke. It takes a strong, loving relationship to make it through such a trial.

One thing that I found particularly relatable- Allison said she always felt so lucky in her life, that she was waiting for the shoe to drop. I think many people probably feel that way.

I read Beauty in the Broken Places through teary eyes for much of the first few chapters.  It is hard not to feel her fear and pain. Pataki is a wonderful writer, and after reading this emotional story of the resilience of the human spirit, I will be looking to read her fiction next.

Allison Pataki's website is here.

New in Paperback- Those We Love Most by Lee Woodruff

Those We Love Most by Lee Woodruff

Published by Voice ISBN 9781401341978

Trade paperback, $14.99, 336 pages

I love a book that has such powerful emotional honesty that you just can't help becoming invested in it. CBS This Morning journalist Lee Woodruff's first novel, Those We Love Most, is one of those books.

This is a multigenerational story, about Maura, wife and mom to three young children, and her mother Margaret. A moment of inattention by Maura forever changes their lives, one that will cause her to feel incredible guilt and pain. The tragedy that follows is compounded by the secret of betrayal that Maura carries.

Margaret is a rock for her daughter, doing all she can to get her and the family through the aftermath of a beloved child's death. She loves her husband Roger, and when he faces a health crisis, she is also forced to face a secret that he has been hiding from her, one that if she were honest with herself, she already knew.

This is a novel about how hard it is to be married, and the resilience of the human spirit. Margaret describes her life with Roger after many years together:

"The patterns and paths of their life together, especially in the past decade, had become more and more divergent. She had her set schedule: gardening, bridge, exercise, and the occasional lunch with friends. Being a devoted grandmother, a role of which she was immensely proud, also took up a large portion of her time....But Roger spent too much time in the office at his stage in life, in her opinion."

Margaret is a character that many women will relate to: the one who keeps things together, who never falls apart, soldiers through everything.

"Margaret believed it was wife's job to keep the exterior facade spackled and impenetrable, to prevent the cracks from showing on the outside. In her mind, a classy woman never broke rank."

Maura and her husband Pete had their own problems before the tragedy.

"Things had been operating on this half-speed for a while, Maura acknowledged, each of them heading down an easy slipstream in marriage where the valuable, intimate parts begin to erode in a tidal wave of banality." 

Woodruff succeeds in bringing these women to life; indeed, they are women you feel that you know in your own life. Her observations about marriage at its different stages will resonate with many women.

The writing is insightful, and the scenes at the hospital will break your heart. It is clear that Woodruff drew on her own experiences with her husband ABC Bob Woodruff's traumatic brain injuries suffered during the Iraq War to write these emotional passages.

I can't remembered being so viscerally affected by a novel; Woodruff's first work of fiction is emotional, heartbreaking and ultimately uplifting. This is a book I will recommend to anyone looking for a story to lose yourself in.

rating 5 of 5

Here is a YouTube video of Lee Woodruff discussing Those We Love Most

Lee Woodruff's website is here.

Three new fiction books make gripping, serious fall reading : Diane Larue

My monthly Book Report column
Three new fiction books make gripping, serious fall reading : Diane Larue

Those We Love Most by Lee Woodruff

Those We Love Most by Lee Woodruff
Published by Hyperion Voice ISBN 9781401341787
Hardcover $26.99, 320 pages

I love a book that has such powerful emotional honesty that you just can't help becoming invested in it. CBS This Morning journalist Lee Woodruff's first novel, Those We Love Most, is one of those books.

This is a multigenerational story, about Maura, wife and mom to three young children, and her mother Margaret. A moment of inattention by Maura forever changes their lives, one that will cause her to feel incredible guilt and pain. The tragedy that follows is compounded by the secret of betrayal that Maura carries.

Margaret is a rock for her daughter, doing all she can to get her and the family through the aftermath of a beloved child's death. She loves her husband Roger, and when he faces a health crisis, she is also forced to face a secret that he has been hiding from her, one that if she were honest with herself, she already knew.

This is a novel about how hard it is to be married, and the resilience of the human spirit. Margaret describes her life with Roger after many years together:

"The patterns and paths of their life together, especially in the past decade, had become more and more divergent. She had her set schedule: gardening, bridge, exercise, and the occasional lunch with friends. Being a devoted grandmother, a role of which she was immensely proud, also took up a large portion of her time....But Roger spent too much time in the office at his stage in life, in her opinion."

Margaret is a character that many women will relate to: the one who keeps things together, who never falls apart, soldiers through everything.

"Margaret believed it was wife's job to keep the exterior facade spackled and impenetrable, to prevent the cracks from showing on the outside. In her mind, a classy woman never broke rank."

Maura and her husband Pete had their own problems before the tragedy.

"Things had been operating on this half-speed for a while, Maura acknowledged, each of them heading down an easy slipstream in marriage where the valuable, intimate parts begin to erode in a tidal wave of banality." 

Woodruff succeeds in bringing these women to life; indeed, they are women you feel that you know in your own life. Her observations about marriage at its different stages will resonate with many women.

The writing is insightful, and the scenes at the hospital will break your heart. It is clear that Woodruff drew on her own experiences with her husband ABC Bob Woodruff's traumatic brain injuries suffered during the Iraq War to write these emotional passages.

I can't remembered being so viscerally affected by a novel; Woodruff's first work of fiction is emotional, heartbreaking and ultimately uplifting. This is a book I will recommend to anyone looking for a story to lose yourself in.

rating 5 of 5

Here is a YouTube video of Lee Woodruff discussing Those We Love Most

BEA12 Wrap-Up- Is Speed Dating Wrong When You're Already Married? Part 1

Books from the authors I met at speed dating

Two of the events I enjoyed most at this year's BEA were speed dating. The Book Bloggers Conference opened up with Author Speed Dating.

Each table was numbered and we got to choose where to sit; I chose table 9 because of I was looking forward to meeting Lee Woodruff and Justin Cronin. Lee Woodruff is a reporter on my favorite morning show, CBS This Morning, with Charlie Rose, Gayle King and Erica Hill.

One of the stories she did on the show was about the uber-popular book, Fifty Shades of Grey. She visited with housewives, including her sister, to find out what all the fuss was, and this story was one of the earliest in the mainstream media to report on the phenomenon.

When she sat down at the table, the reporter in her came out as she asked us all who we were. Then she discussed her upcoming book, her first novel, Those We Love Most, a story about a family whose lives change tragically in an instant. It is told from the perspective of four people, and it's about marriage, the secrets we keep from the ones we love, and the consequences of those secrets. I'm really looking forward to reading this one.

Amy Sohn, author of Motherland, joined us next. Her novel is a sequel to Prospect Park West, and both are about that trendy section of Brooklyn and the inhabitants who live there. It's like the next step for the Sex & the City characters. Her time with us seemed short, all she could do was describe her new novel to us and then the bell rang.

I was very excited to meet Justin Cronin, whom most people know as the man who wrote The Passage, but I know him for his lovely book Mary and O'Neill.  I was so happy to be able to tell him how much I loved that book, and I think he was pleased to hear it. (I fear I was slightly schoolgirlish in my devotion.) His upcoming book is a sequel to The Passage titled The Twelve.

Our last author was unfamiliar to me; Will Schwalbe wrote a memoir about the death of his mother, The End of Your Life Book Club. He was so genuine and his description of the book had our entire table under his spell. He accompanied his mother to her chemo treatments, and they decided to read and discuss books together to pass the time.

His love and admiration for his mother, who founded a women's and children's refugee organization in Afghanistan, had all us teary-eyed. I think our table all fell a little in love with Will. His mom must have been remarkable to have raised such a wonderful son. I can't wait to read his tribute to her.

All in all, I have to say that my first speed dating try was very successful; of the four authors I met, I am excited about "dating" three of them. (And by "dating", I mean reading their books and following them on social media.)

My next post will be about speed dating at the Book Club Buzz Panel.