I knew I was going to love this book, after reading the first sentence in chapter one, “The next time Mom wants me to come home, remind me why I’d rather roast my own balls over a campfire.”

Noah, 37 year old, artist travels from Providence to his childhood home in Oakland where his ‘difficult’ mother, and oh so famous writer/poet of a mother resides and she’s none other than Virginia York. He’s clearly not pleased to be home, but he’s there and what follows is a trip down memory lane, and him having to face his past mistakes.

When he gets home, he knows that he’d get along just fine with his mom for ten minutes or so and after that, they would be unable to breathe the same air but this time, Virginia is sweet and wants him to stay longer, and then just like that she tells him, she has ALS and she wants him to help her find her daughter, Carolyn, the sister that they never talked about because she was born when Virginia was only twelve and given up for adoption. To Noah, Virginia is a rock, the one who never backs down from a fight but this time, she’s got ALS and her muscles are giving way, dying on her and suddenly it dawns on Noah that his mom is dying.

I came across this book on Netgalley and the Publisher granted my request to read it in exchange for an honest review. The book is set to be released in May 2023- and if you’d love to get a copy, you can pre-order a copy on Amazon.

I love Noah’s sense of humor and when he meets his nephew, Leo, somewhere along the story line- then those two made this book a laugh out loud kinda book for me. “If I ever bitch about needing more excitement in my life, please feel free to make me swallow my own tongue.”

When I got to the end, I learned that it’s a stand-alone sequel, but for what it’s worth, it lives up to the title, because there is a way in which each character faces their fears, mistakes and above all…their hopes and desires for the future that made this the kind of book that feels like family, where everyone is imperfect but they are always welcome.

Thanks Netgalley and the publisher for the eARC