The Lost Husband by Katherine Center
Ballantine Books, April 2013
I loved this book! So inspiring and heartwarming. I received a galley of this title and filed it away with my massively growing To-Be-Read pile. I remember reading Center’s earlier books, The Bright Side of Disaster, Get Lucky and Everyone is Beautiful and having really enjoyed both of those books, decided to give her latest a try. In her earlier works, Center wrote about the themes of female empowerment, confidence, taking chances, starting over and personal strength. Her upcoming release, The Lost Husband, focuses on similarly inspiring themes.
Libby Moran is a widow. Her husband, Danny, died three years ago in a car accident and she has been living with her two young children at her mother’s house. Her mother is a difficult person, to say the least. She’s controlling and condescending and Libby has had it with her antics. After receiving a letter from her Aunt Jean, her mother’s free-spirited sister, inviting her to come live with her on her farm, Libby jumps at the chance for change.
Packing up her two small children, she makes the brave move to a new life. But what Libby doesn’t expect is how much this new life is going to change her, for the better. Surrounded by a wild cast of characters including the lovable O’Connor and her take charge Aunt Jean, Libby begins to learn things about herself, about her life and about parenting. There are so many inspiring gems in the dialogue and characters thoughts that I found myself highlighting at least one line per page. It was uplifting without sugar-coating the complexities of life. Essentially, The Lost Husband teaches the reader that life is hard, but if it wasn’t hard we would never become the strong, resilient, optimistic people we are meant to be.
I am so glad I picked up The Lost Husband and I hope that Katherine gets all the accolades she deserves for this sweet, smart, and inspiring novel.
Review Copy provided by Net Galley.
