I just want to put a disclaimer that this book touches on mental health, death, death of a child, and I wanted everyone to be aware should you decide to pick up your own copy.
When I read the blurb for You've Reached Sam, I was obsessed. I wanted to read that book so badly. Sadly, Wednesday books never responded to my request for an ARC, and it didn't come out until November 9th, so I was stuck trying to find something similar to appease me until it came out. Enter, The Last Goodbye.
You've Reached Sam is about a girl whose boyfriend dies and in her grief she calls his phone number to hear his voicemail, and he picks up. In The Last Goodbye, Anna's husband, the love of her life is lost tragically to a drunk driver. Almost three years later and she is still so entrenched in grief and loss that anything that has the chance of making her feel alive, instead fills her with guilt and pain. New Years Eve her best friend tries to introduce her to someone new, this only causes her to panic and flee. Anna rushes home and winds up calling Spencer's number, just to hear his voice on his voicemail. But his voicemail never picks up, someone else does. Brody has experience his own loss in life and can relate to Anna's pain like no one else can. Together they help each other cope and move forward from their loss and they might even find it in themselves to love along the way.
This is not a love story. This is not a rom-com. This is a book about pain and loss. It's about heartache and grief and mental health. It's the many ways that people deal and heal differently. How loss can tear whole families apart, and build completely new ones in the therapeutic process. Fiona Lucas does an amazing job of showing all the different aspects of grief and the growth that Anna and Brody experience individually, just because they have someone who understands.
Anna comes up with an idea for an app that would help widows and widowers find that connection of understanding that she and Brody have; I absolutely love this idea. Being able to connect with another individual about your mental health is so incredibly important. Mrs. Lucas makes a great point in The Last Goodbye, that we can't always make it on our own, no matter how stubborn we may be. Sometimes we need a little shove in the right direction.
I would recommend this book to anyone over 15. This is a wonderful heartfelt tale that is about Anna and Brody growing and healing, and a little bit of love thrown in there.
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ 5 stars for Fiona Lucas story of love and loss.
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