I’m just coming off of a very long vacation, so I’m very behind in posting up content.  It doesn’t mean I wasn’t working in some way or another.  It does mean I was able to find some time to catch up on a lot of reading material.

The first book I’m going to share is Karma Brown’s “Come Away With Me” from Mira Books.

The book is about a young woman named Tegan Lawson.  She is going through one of the most difficult times in her life.  Before, she was newly married, expecting a baby, and everything was just perfect until a car accident left her childless for the rest of her life.  Her husband, Gabe, was behind the wheel that night.

Dealing with the loss of their unborn child and knowing that she will never be able to have a child again, left her severely depressed and angry at her husband.  It was his fault this happened.  She blamed him.  How does a marriage survive this?

She and Gabe have a Jar of Spontaneity where they place their dream destinations.  She pulls out three pieces of paper to determine where they will go to help get Tegan out of their apartment.  It’s an attempt to help fix Tegan (and their marriage).  She draws out Thailand, Italy and Hawaii from the jar.

In Thailand, they start off in Bangkok and then head to Chiang Mai to ride elephants and buy art painted by elephants.  In Italy, they head to Ravello, Italy so she can learn how to cook Italian food just like Gabe’s mother.  In Hawaii, she learns how to Hang Ten.

This adventure is a spiritual adventure for Tegan.  In each place, she’s learning how to be herself again.  More importantly, she’s learning how to be happy again.

What will surprise the reader is that the story isn’t quite what it seems.  There’s a twist at the end that will leave your heart pounding and wanting to just embrace Tegan into your own being to protect her, because you understand her in ways you never thought you would be able to.  The story will break your heart from the very beginning, but then you’ll find hope and promise at the end that makes you realize no matter how horrible things can be, you can always find your way out of that dark place.  No matter how crushed and broken you are, you can be happy again.

I will warn you, for those who have been in that place of deep grief, depression and sorrow, the first 100 pages will be difficult for you.  It was for me.  Brown dives so deeply into that depression and loss, you’ll feel like putting the book down and not going through with it.  There were some points in the beginning where I wanted to throw the book across the room because I was so mad at Tegan.  I wanted to shake her and say, “Get over it.  Get your ass out of bed.  Move forward with your life, dammit!”

I found that if you stick with it, you’ll find the adventure that awaits is worth pursuing with Tegan as she reclaims her sanity, her peace of mind, her happiness, and herself.  The story does get better.  More importantly, for those who have found themselves in that deep misery that you can feel when you have lost someone you love, this is a way of finding hope that things can and will be alright.  You can feel that deep sorrow and grief that feels like it will never end, but you won’t always feel that way.  It’s just a moment and that’s what Karma Brown explains all throughout this book as she takes Tegan from her happiest of times, to her worst of times and then to her new self.  These tragic moments change you forever, but the journey that follows is one that makes you an even greater person than you were before.

Come Away with Me is due to be released on August 25th.  For those who have lost someone, and for those who love to travel, as well as enjoy reading spiritual adventures, I highly recommend this book.  I will say that this book was not what I expected at all.  Karma’s note of “Hope you enjoy!” that she inscribed in the front made me want to say, “Thank you for writing this book.”  I enjoyed it more than I was expecting to.  I went in expecting nothing and came out of it thinking…this is the kind of story that sticks with you for the rest of your life in a very good way.  The book doesn’t just make Tegan into a better person, it turns the reader into a greater person as well.  You realize just how weak you can be, but also how strong you can be after life deals some of the hardest blows you’ll ever experience.

After reading this book, I started my own Jar of Spontaneity.  I drew out four pieces of paper of places I will be going to over this next year.  I pulled: Vietnam, India, South America and Bolivia.  Tegan suffered a lot in the realization of what she lost after she lost the baby and her reproductive organs.  It hit home for me because surgeries can oftentimes change you when you realize you can’t have kids anymore.  I haven’t traveled overseas since my surgery.  This book prompted me to go out and do those things again, because I’ve found that some of the greatest journeys into your own being happens when you travel.  Thanks, Karma, for reminding me it’s time to take that step forward.

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Disclaimers: This post contains affiliate links, which means that if you click on one of the product links, I’ll receive monetary compensation.  I received a free copy of this book from Harlequin Books in exchange for writing a review on the blog.  All content and opinions are my own.