How to Walk Away: A Novel Paperback – July 9, 2019

I very much enjoyed this book. The story is engaging, and the characters are extremely well drawn. The book is beautifully written, and really drew me in. I loved it.I do have one source of frustration with it, albeit not enough of one to make me recommend it less highly. I admit to the crass concern of worrying about money on the heroine's behalf, an important respect in which this novel steps away from any claim to being realistic. Maggie never seems to have money problems, even though she had based spending before the accident on getting a fabulous job in business, a job that never materialized. Her parents don't seem to have any problems with money, either, nor does her sister. Maggie's insurance company, mentioned several times in the book, would have insisted on seeking recompense for the huge costs they undertake, and, if necessary, suing her stupid fiancé for negligently causing her injury. The authorities identified the cause of the crash as pilot error, and there is no way that an insurance company would have let that ride, nor should Maggie or her Maggie's parents have done so.But putting that aside, the book is terrific, and I'm looking forward to reading Things You Save In a Fire.

Margaret Jacobson’s life was nearly perfect. In her late 20’s, she was set to start her dream job and enter into the next phase of her relationship with a man she adored. But despite her years of hard work and doing everything she was supposed to, it took only a few chaotic minutes to throw it all into disarray.How to Walk Away by Katherine Center tells the story of Margaret’s rise and fall after a tragic accident leaves her questioning everything she thought she knew: her friends, her family, and most of all, herself. As she scrambles to pick through the wreckage that is her former life, she struggles to rebuild the confidence and vibrancy that she once embodied.There’s a saying that it is in tragedy that we find out what we’re really made of – what we can and can’t handle. Usually, it’s meant to infer that we are stronger than we think, and that with the right attitude and enough grit, we can overcome anything. But Margaret isn’t so sure and fluctuates between an optimistic worldview where all returns to normal and the heartbreaking realization that there are some things you just can’t come back from.Complicating matters are the very people she depends on – her mother who refuses to accept the facts, her estranged sister and her inconvenient timing for seeking forgiveness, and her dream man, who, despite his best efforts, is woefully inadequate in dealing with what happened to Margaret. Anyone who has experienced tragedy knows firsthand that people respond in different ways, but Margaret is stuck on her hospital bed bearing witness to it all.And so, Margaret is left, more or less, on her own, finding solace in the most unexpected places and relying on strangers for their brutal honesty. Sometimes, though, it is when we lose something that we find something – the question is whether what Margaret is seeking is possible, or if she even knows what it is she is seeking.How To Walk Away is fast paced and written in a conversational tone that the reader can breeze through in just a few sittings (in my case, it was two), making it the perfect weekend read. It’s as if the reader is inside Margaret’s head, bearing witness to her every thought and action for better or for worse. Center does an excellent job of putting the reader in her shoes, and although I cannot imagine being in her situation, I could empathize with her. In other words, she is completely relatable even though she’s in an impossible situation.I’ve never read Center before, but a quick Google search shows that she has authored many books and is quite popular. If this book is indication, then I can see why. How to Walk Away is, for lack of a better phrase, hard to walk away from and Margaret will stay with me for a long time.

I thought the book was so well written. It grabbed you from the beginning. You got to know all the characters so well and so quickly. Loved all the little twists with the sister . Loved how the story made you want a happy ending. Such a great read. Looking forward to Reading another book by Katherine Center

FAMILY. Through our best and worst this book is a precious page turner that makes you keep pushing for Margaret . Life felt like it was over but she literally rolled with it !

It was a decent book, but nothing I’d recommend. I didn’t outright hate it. I just think the idea of it wasn’t enough to carry 300+ pages. It got very repetitive. There’s only so much physical therapy someone can get before I’m bored out of my wits. I enjoyed the character’s family dynamics. Very realistic. The romantic plot was predictable. The disability aspect, inspiring. As a disabled person, I found the character’s struggles and triumphs to be both realistic and inspirational and that saved it for me. Otherwise it would be less stars.

First of all, wow. At first I had a really hard time reading Margaret’s story. What happened was so brutal and her boyfriend/fiancé was an absolute turd. Her mother seemed to be a controlling nightmare too and I was ready to give up-but then her sister Kit showed up and the sisterly support propped me up until I saw beyond everyone else’s issues and Margaret’s strength became the heart of the story. Kit was a godsend, not just to poor Margaret, but also me who was looking for something to love about this story that was so hard to read. Don’t get me wrong, it was well written, but it was also pretty brutal. Kit added some much needed humor. Then there was Ian- he seemed to be a bit of a jerk, but underneath that gruff exterior he was solid gold.This story had so much strength and heart. Yes, it was sometimes hard to read but each page I turned showed a different side to this kind of crazy family that I started to look forward to seeing what else was going to be revealed. This family had skeletons, hard feelings, and lots and lots of love. Family drama at its best.The one thing I was slightly disappointed in was the love story aspect between Ian and Margaret. Ian was pretty closed off for most of the book and I just wish that the reader could’ve made a bigger connection with him. I loved him for Margaret (I can still hear him calling her Maggie in his Scottish accent), but the ending would’ve had a greater impact if I liked him as much as I did Margaret. Although, it was humdinger of an ending.