Living

This book captured my interest from the first page on, it was hard to put the book down because it was so engrossed in and so very well written. A book seldom captures my interest from the first page. When Ella a famous actress walked into the ocean to commit in front of Cam’s home, the story takes off with Cam being able to save Ella, and helps restore her back to a functioning survivor. Ella begs Cam not to call 911 or draw attention to the incident but did promise that she would call and seek a session with her therapist immediately. Ella was dealing with severe depression and has been in treatment with a therapist and taking medication in an effort to get past the death of her twin sister who is also an actress like Ella . A few months after this incident with hard work with her therapist and her desire to work through her depression Ellis starts to feel a little better and always thought about the woman who saved her life. Ella makes an effort to find Cam with the guise of returning clothing that she borrowed the morning of her attempted suicide. After a brief conversation it becomes clear that the two women want to get to know each other better and become friends Because Cam does not see Ella as an actress rather she sees her as a person who is on her personal mission to work through the grief of the death of her sister. Ella offers her a supportive, non-judge mental friend. The story from this point develops with many twists and turns as Ella begins to unravel pieces of her history. In addition to this being a well written and very interesting story what I like best about it was the description of the long and painful path people suffering from depression encounter, as no two people have the same path to finding ways to cope with their grief. There is the emphasis of the need for therapy, medication if needed, and a supportive help of a friend that you can trust and talk to. Deep depression as described in this book, that led to suicide is a very serious issue for very many people and the author tackle this very difficult subject with skill and accurate information. If I could give this book 10 stars I would. It is just so well written, great character development, a plot that keeps interest, and important information.

I believe the author missed an opportunity to write an amazing novel. Unfortunately, that was not the case in my opinion. I had difficulties with several things. First - if the author has an editor why didn't they edit out most of the mistakes? It's 'all right' not alright, which is a common mistake many make so I didn't reduce my rating because of that. Had I read the 'look inside' I don't think I would have purchased this book. It was difficult at some points to even understand what the author was writing as on one page, the narrative went on for over half a page until there was a period. That particular sentence had several thoughts within that paragraph/sentence and would have worked better if it had been broken into two or more sentences. Moreover, while there were lengthy descriptions of settings, it didn't grab me. Sometimes less is more and certainly there are writing devices that could have been used to describe a room that's not essentially important to the story. Each chapter became repetitive to me lacking other writing devices such as using one of the five senses or descriptive words. There were some but not enough. I forced myself to finish it and the author did deliver a better story as time went on, however, this idea would have been a wonderfully creative piece if there had been more creativity. Narratives should balance with dialogue, however, it was either one or the other out of proportion.On the positive side, there were moments of excellent writing - just not enough. Perhaps the author should work with her editor who will generally recommend changes. Sadly, after reading this, I'm unlikely to read another by this author. As I seem to be in a minority on my views of this work, perhaps it's a matter of style verses substance. Just didn't do it for me.

A lot of of wonderful things have been said about this book, so I am just going to speak from the heart and hope for the best.This book healed a piece of my broken soul. As someone who struggles with mental health issues, reading this book was comforting and encouraging. It was the first book I have ever read by the author and was blown away by the writing. I loved the main characters and felt like I was going through each experience right along with them.I will add the book to my read again category in my kindle. I loved the book so much when I finished I went and bought every single book written by the author!

It's hard losing someone and it can sends you down into depression. Hidden beneath the façade of a beautiful and confident actress, is a woman who deals with grief, loneliness and anxiety. She tries everything to take the pain away but It hurts too much to not care anymore. There is only one option she sees as a way out. Cam also knows what it is to struggle with grief and has her own backpack. With her strenght and warm heart, she provides emotional support (and a lot more). Cam helps Ella with discovering a whole new side of herself. I Love intense stories written with so much emotions. Stories that will stay with you long after you've read the last page. “Living” is one of them. A story with characters you just kind of feel connected to and with a sensitive subject. The writing is very vivid with beautiful details. I love all her books but this one is my favorite. I highly recommend Living.