THE ART OF SAYING GOOBYE: REVIEW AND GIVEAWAY

GIVEAWAY ENDED
THE ART OF SAYING GOODBYE

BY ELLYN BACHE

ABOUT THE BOOK:

She was the thread that wove their tapestry together.

With a group of women as diverse as the ladies from Brightwood Trace, you might not think them to be close. There's Julianne, a nurse with an unsettling psychic ability that allows her to literally feel what her patients feel, Andrea, a strong fortress sheltering a faltering core, Ginger, a mother torn between being a stay-at-home mom or following her career aspirations, and Iona, the oldest, whose feisty, no-nonsense attitude disarms even toughest of the tough. Not exactly the ingredients for the most cohesive cocktail . . . Until you add Paisley, the liveliest and friendliest of the clan, who breathed life into them all.

But when their glowing leader falls ill with cancer, it's up to these women to do what Paisely has done for them since the beginning: lift her up. Overcoming and accepting the inevitability of loss, the women draw closer than ever; finding together the strength to embrace and cherish their lives with acceptance, gratitude and most importantly, love. Finally living with the vigor that Paisely has shown them from the start, they are able to see their lives in a new light, while learning to say goodbye to the brightest star they've ever known. Over the course of just three months, these four women will undergo a magnificent transformation that leaves nobody unchanged.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

Ellyn Bache is the award-winning author of nearly a dozen books of fiction, including a short story collection that won the Willa Cather Fiction Prize and nine novels, including Safe Passage, that was made into a film starring Susan Sarandon, and The Art of Saying Goodbye. A native of Washington, DC who has spent most of her adult life in the Southeast, she currently divides her time between the Carolinas and Pennsylvania. Read more about Ellyn Bache's life at here website "Bio" HERE. Also, while at Ellyn's site, check out the short audio description at the bottom of the page about this book HERE--I loved it! Photo by Gary Wells.

PRAISE FOR THE BOOK:

Grief, friendship, marriage, love and uncertainty—it’s all here—portrayed quietly and convincingly, without being over done. ...[A] glimpse into the lives of this intertwined group of women and their everlasting, complicated friendships—which is how a book about women and their complicated friendships should be.

— New York Journal of Books

 “A moving, gratifying, and inspiring reminder to live life to its fullest and demonstrate love in every possible way to friends and family.— Publishers Weekly  “Sweet, profound, sweeping in its themes yet detailed in its nuances, Bache’s latest explores the layers of friendship involved in facing serious illness and buried secrets.— Booklist
The secrets revealed and the emotions exposed make this a compelling read.— Charlotte Observe  “A beautiful story of friendship in the face of tragedy.— Fresh Fiction  “A deeply felt and beautiful story that portrays what friends can mean to each other in ways that are difficult to articulate.  Bache has done so here in perfect pitch. Bravo!”—Dorothea Benton Frank, bestselling author of “Sullivan’s Island” and “Folly Beach”

MY THOUGHTS/REVIEW:
It is easy to understand why Ellyn Bache is an award winning author just by reading THE ART OF SAYING GOODBYE. This is the first, but not the last, of her novels I have read and I was not prepared for what I discovered. I thought as I read the synopsis and cover that I was in for another sad book about someone dying of cancer and how it affects all those around her. To say it isn’t would be a lie, but to describe it as only that is so wrong. You see, this story is more, so much more than that.

With THE ART OF SAYING GOODBYE, Ellyn Bache has focused her writing on the friendship among five very different women who are drawn together by one common bond; not the cancer, but rather by one woman, Paisley Lamm. Paisley does have cancer and the book centers around the last three months of her life and how each person in this elite group will be touched and changed forever during this time. Paisley is the member of the group who is always there for everyone and is as zany as she is kind. A pretty mother of two daughters with a supportive and loving husband in Mason, Paisley is the core of this group or as described in the book, the “thread” that holds them all together.  

Bache cleverly divides the story into chapters where each chapter deals with one of the five women. When she writes about one of the women other than Paisley, Bache writes in the third person and details the interpersonal relationship that the character had with Paisley. How they care for each other and how Paisley helps them to see their way clear through life’s challenges, helps to personify each woman so you see and feel for that character, showing how different they all are. However, when the chapters switch to Paisley, the point of view is in the first person as Paisley herself will flash back to a time in her life when she was helped by her friends, often without their even knowing it.

The other women, who I am sure you are more than ready to meet, are Julianne who is a nurse practitioner. She is also the one who first “found” Paisley’s cancer. With some kind of psychic touch she only has experienced once before, Julianne knows right away when Paisley is in her office, that something dreadful is wrong. Learning to cope with this “gift” is a very difficult thing for Julianne. Paisley’s disease is not just happening to her, but Julianne also feels such an emotional part of it herself, and Paisley helps her to be able to deal with this.

Andrea is Paisley’s closest friend. She spends almost every day with her and is determined for Paisley to not face this alone as she recalls how Paisley helped her to get through a similar situation and the secrets they share are those of the closest of friends. It is quite painful for Andrea, but I had great respect for her outward strength through it all. 

The last two of the five friends are Ginger, who is now running a business inherited from her father-in-law that Paisley helped her to find her place in. With what was a difficult situation, Ginger came out on top thanks to Paisley’s advice on how Ginger could find herself and at the same time give her husband back his life and dreams. Finally, Iona, the oldest, is a widow with spunk who never remarried and somewhat over the years is the rock they could all depend on. She doesn’t shy away from playing the part of the sage as she gives out advice and doesn’t mind telling it like it is. But, Iona needs to find herself and Paisley again plays into that. It is something Iona never realized was there all the time but she never would have known it without Paisley’s inspiration and help.

While Paisley does all these things, the cancer brings to the forefront its ugly reality. All the people in her neighborhood hang white ribbons around their trees to show their support but as so often happens, shy away from physically coming to see Paisley. This is the thing she misses most and can’t understand why it is so hard to come see her just because they know she is dying. It takes them finally facing the awful reality and coming on their own terms before they can visit once again. However, once they do, Paisley puts them at ease and although each person reacts differently, none regret going.

They are forever changed by not only how she lived her life, but in the goodness and blessing Paisley continues to show even in her illness. These women realize finally that once Paisley is gone, that she will have left them physically but never be far from their hearts. With Julianne, Andrea, Ginger, and Iona, Paisley asks each to make a promise to her. She whispers it in their ear and all promise they will keep their vow to her. What are those promises? Perhaps, they are THE ART OF SAYING GOODBYE! You will find out when you read Ellen Bache’s wonderful new book.

GIVEAWAY 

THANKS TO MEGAN AND THE GOOD FOLKS 

AT HARPER COLLINS, I HAVE ONE COPY

OF THIS WONDERFUL BOOK BY ELLYN BACHE,

THE ART OF SAYING GOODBYE, TO GIVE AWAY

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