How to Walk Away, by Katherine Center

Book Name: How to Walk Away
Author: Katherine Center

Synopsis (from Goodreads):
Margaret Jacobsen has a bright future ahead of her: a fiancé she adores, her dream job, and the promise of a picture-perfect life just around the corner. Then, suddenly, on what should have been one of the happiest days of her life, everything she worked for is taken away in one tumultuous moment.

In the hospital and forced to face the possibility that nothing will ever be the same again, Margaret must figure out how to move forward on her own terms while facing long-held family secrets, devastating heartbreak, and the idea that love might find her in the last place she would ever expect.

My review:

“It’s the trying that heals you.”

“When you don’t know what to do for yourself, do something for someone else.”

"Sometimes the last thing you want is the one thing you need."

Ok...I started with the quotes, because this book has so many of them, placed here and there within the story … and they resonated very deeply with me. As the synopsis mentions, the story begins with its main character, Margaret Jacobsen, having a bright and well planned future right ahead of her. Her fiancé has finally proposed to her and she has a fabulous job opportunity ahead of her.

THEN…as is common in life, something happens. An event, an incident, an accident that turns everything topsy-turvy in her life. She no longer knows where she’s headed; both her fiancé and her amazing job – seem like distant dreams that belonged to someone else and not her, at least not any longer. She also has been so seriously injured that though her recovery is in question, there is NO doubt that life will never be the same again! Amidst this mind numbing turmoil and physical and emotional challenges, Margaret also has to come face to face with the true faces of the people around her and how they react to and treat her – as a result of her injuries. Some long-held, never known before, family secrets are revealed; her physical therapist is a taskmaster who is not an easy person to be around; she has so many questions and absolutely no answers and the future seems absolutely bleak – but in all this, there is one silver lining, she is finally reunited with her estranged sister, Kit.

This book is essentially a romantic novel, but it beautifully captures so many other dynamics, that simply calling it that would be an injustice to it. I loved how the book details out her thoughts and tumultuous thoughts and emotions post the accident, how her relationship with her sister is explored and this sibling bond comes to be one of her strongest support during the darkest days of her life. I also loved her interactions with her physical therapist. All this made the book pretty realistic for me – and not your typical head-in-the-clouds romantic novel.

This was a really enjoyable book, one that I would recommend to everyone who wants to have a light read. It’s funny, realistic, provides just enough details about the injuries and the prognosis not to make it too technical or boring, and it deals with topics such as: second chances; how life is all about trying; moving on; inner strength; importance of family; sibling bond; acceptance; and finally not giving up!
Also the author’s style of writing is commendable and this is definitely a well thought out book – the amount of research Katherine must have done to investigate these injuries is visible in the way she addresses the physical aspect as well as emotional thoughts of her character. All the characters seemed very realistic and she adds a lot of depth to the main characters such as Margaret, Ian, Kit. All in all, a very interesting read!

Thanks to Nobonita Chowdhury who provided me with an ARC copy of this book to provide an honest review, as part of an ARC circulation initiative taken by her.