The Optimist's Guide to Letting Go

by Amy E Reichert

Three generations. Seven days. One big secret. The author of The Coincidence of Coconut Cake unfolds a mother-daughter story told by three women whose time to reckon with a life-altering secret is running out.

Gina Zoberski wants to make it through one day without her fastidious mother, Lorraine, cataloguing all her faults, and her sullen teenage daughter, May, snubbing her. Too bad there’s no chance of that. Her relentlessly sunny disposition annoys them both, no matter how hard she tries. Instead, Gina finds order and comfort in obsessive list-making and her work at Grilled G’s, the gourmet grilled cheese food truck built by her late husband.

But when Lorraine suffers a sudden stroke, Gina stumbles upon a family secret Lorraine's kept hidden for forty years. In the face of her mother’s failing health and her daughter’s rebellion, this optimist might find that piecing together the truth is the push she needs to let go...

• ISBN10: 150115494X
• ISBN13: 9781501154942
• Publish Date: 14 June 2018 (first published 15 May 2018)
• Publish Status: Out of Print
• Out of Print: 5 April 2021
• Publish Country: US
• Publisher: Simon & Schuster
• Imprint: Gallery
• Format: Paperback (US Trade)
• Pages: 352
• Language: English

Reviews

[pagesbycyndy]

I received this book for free from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.

My Review Of

The Optimist's Guide to Letting Go by Amy E. Reichert

If there is comfort food then this is what I call a comfort book. I read this book in a little over twenty-four hours. I have read all of  Amy E. Reichert's books and this latest one did not disappoint. I loved the foodie theme of the book that featured grilled cheese and brownies. Gina owns a food truck called Grilled G's while her increasingly distant and somewhat difficult daughter May is obsessed with making all kinds of brownies that sound fabulous. Gina has been recently widowed and that just completely devastated their once close knit family. Gina's mother Lorraine is a critical force to be reckoned with,  unfortunately Lorraine has her reasons for being this way and her own secrets and tale to tell. Gina just cannot get past the sudden death of  her husband but an unfortunate turn of events forces Gina , her sister , May and Lorraine to face truths and deal with a long buried family secret.

What a wonderful tale of mother's , daughters and the choices that they make for appearances or to keep their family safe and secure . This was a heartwarming story, like I said I call this one a "Comfort Book".This review was originally posted on My Fiction Obsession