Review: With or Without You by Caroline Leavitt

Publisher: Algonquin Books

Published: June 29, 2021 (Paperback Release)

Source: Author via Suzy Approved Booktours

Summary:

New York Times bestselling author Caroline Leavitt writes novels that expertly explore the struggles and conflicts people face in their search for happiness. For the characters in With or Without You, it seems at first that such happiness can come only at someone else’s expense. Stella is a nurse who has long suppressed her own needs and desires to nurture the dreams of her partner, Simon, the bass player for a rock band that has started to lose its edge. But when Stella gets unexpectedly ill and falls into a coma just as Simon is preparing to fly with his band to Los Angeles for a gig that could revive his career, Simon must learn the meaning of sacrifice. Stella’s best friend, Libby, a doctor who treats Stella, must also make a difficult choice as the coma wears on.

When Stella at last awakes from her two-month sleep, she emerges into a striking new reality where Simon and Libby have formed an intense bond, and where she discovers that she has acquired a startling artistic talent of her own: the ability to draw portraits that capture the subjects’ their innermost feelings and desires. Stella’s whole identity, but also her role in her relationships, has been scrambled, and she has the chance to form a new life, one she hadn’t even realized she wanted.

A story of love, loyalty, loss, and resilience, With or Without You is a page-turner that asks the question, What do we owe the other people in our lives, and when does the cost become too great?

My thoughts:

This is the first book I’ve read by Caroline Leavitt and it definitely won’t be the last. It was a nice change from the dark thrillers and heavy historical fiction that I’ve been reading of late.

Despite the emotional roller coaster this book takes you on, I found myself completely swept up in the story. It’s a messy, complex look at relationships as well as the individual characters. I loved getting to know Stella, Simon and Libby, hearing each of their viewpoints, and seeing how they saw things happening. They were all well-developed, flawed and relatable characters. I may not always have agreed with the choices that they made all the time, but it just proves that these characters were human and infallible.

This was an emotional page-turner about love, forgiveness and self-discovery. I was totally invested in this story and could not put it down once I started reading it. It’s such a thought-provoking read that shows that we all change as we grow…it’s what you decide to do once you realize things have changed that counts.

I highly recommend picking this one up if you haven’t already…it’s definitely worth the read. And it’s inspired by the author’s life…how interesting is that?