Megan's Way

Great book

Beautifully written. A great book about love, faith and friendship. I look forward to her next book.

2 out of 2 people found this review helpful.

Wow!

What a wonderful and sad story all in one. I laughed and cried reading it. This is a MUST read book!

2 out of 2 people found this review helpful.

Emotional and heartbreaking but a very encouraging journey through life, death, family and friendship.

There are many reasons to keep secrets, some are for the love of a friend or family member you do not wish to see hurt emotionally if the secret was revealed. Some secrets are kept inside because they are too painful to be shared for any reason. In this book there are secrets revealed and secrets kept. The story is about Megan Taylor, her daughter Olivia, her friends Holly-Jack and Peter and the love they all share for one another and the secrets they all keep from one another. I can truly say that this was a book that swept me up into it's pages and kept me reading until I was done the night of the day I started it. The emotional connections that Megan, Olivia, Holly, Jack and Peter shared were part of the allure but the main draw for me was the absolute unshakeable love between Megan and her daughter Olivia. This was a hard read for me, it had me bawling my eyes out for most of the book because it was so hard to follow along on Megan's journey to saying goodbye to her daughter. It was so hard to see how very scared Megan was and how hard she searched her soul for the right way to let her life end so as to bring the least pain to Olivia and her lifelong friends. I say it was a hard read only because it was hard to see through the tears cascading down my face, it was a wonderful story about a woman who lived and died on her own terms. A woman who touched the lives of countless people in a positive way without even realizing the impact she made and the esteem that she garnered over years of being a bright light in a sometimes dark world. The author took what could have been a story that most would find to be a sad episode in one person's journey through life and made it one that is truly encouraging. The fact that the characters are fictional does not matter, we can all aspire to be the best we can be when we have such an example to follow. In the ending much is revealed that may make you think less of Megan, Holly, Jack and even Peter but for me the decisions each person made was made out of love for the others. I think that each of the characters had their hearts in the right place and living with the consequences of their actions so many years ago was a punishment that helped them to become wiser as well as better in the long run. Hopefully before the movie comes out that is to be based on this book you will get a chance to meet them all for yourselves and make up your own minds about how things were dealt with by the characters. [I must disclose that this book was read as part of the author's virtual book tour in the fall of 2011. The e-arc was a copy provided to me by the author in exchange for an honest review. My thoughts and rating for the book were in no way influenced by this and the only other compensation besides the book was my pleasure in reading about the characters in the story.]

2 out of 2 people found this review helpful.

Couldn't put it down!

I really like the way Melissa Foster writes. From the beginning the characters surround you, bringing you into a world that could very well be your own. The mother/daughter bond is a theme explored through all of its permutations in this story. Nothing challenges this more than dealing with the terrible reality of the return of Megan's cancer and her struggle to protect Olivia, her fourteen-year-old daughter. The supporting cast of Megan's close friends brings humor, pathos, and completely unexpected surprises as the intricacies of those relationships are revealed. Megan's Way is a story that is insightful, thought-provoking, and a page-turner you won't want to miss.

2 out of 2 people found this review helpful.

Melissa Foster Rocks with Megan's Way

This book was given to me via the author for a honest and fair review, and part of her summer tour promoting the book which will be made into a movie. We open up learning something about Olivia and Megan. Megan is suffering from Cancer and knows her time is running out. She tries to deal with it best she can not always sure she is making the right choice. She starts out trying to distance herself from her daughter knowing that it would make it easier when she was no longer around. Olivia hates this idea, she was so close to her mother before the Cancer struck her why is her mother pushing her out now? Megan holds deep secrets that impact her friends and family, and keeps them hidden away until she is no longer around to answer the heated questions.

Oh my gosh what a great book, with everyone holding secrets of their own. Holly hiding a deep secret from both Megan and Jack. Jack and Megan with their secret from Holly. Megan with her own secret from everyone including her daughter until it was too late. Even Olivia has her own secret. I love how they each tried to honor Megan in their own way. Definitely a book I would recommend to anyone looking for a great in depth book of mother and daughter and close friends.

1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

Recommended 100%!!!

True, lasting friendships among men and women are to be cherished. In this novel, friendship seems almost too weak a word to use, regarding these characters. They have shared pasts that include secrets and some regrets.

They all rally around Megan as her cancer returns. And many questions need to be answered, with little time left for Megan. Should Megan's daughter, Olivia, be told who is her father? Is this the time that Megan needs to include Olivia in the friends' secrets and traditions? How close can two people really feel toward each other? Can only a 'real' mother raise a child properly?

The story is filled with good intentions. As I say, the characters are friends who truly do love each other. Sometimes even the best intentions can present more problems. Olivia loves her mother and Megan will always 'be there' for her, even in death. In "Megan's Way", I felt the angst that a dying mother would feel in leaving her only child. I could feel Olivia's fear in the unknown and of what would happen to her. Still, there are these friends.

It's interesting, humbling, and sorrowful in knowing each character's inner turmoil. Melissa Foster puts this story to paper lovingly, gently; her writing helps us to know and love these characters, who become our own friends, by the end of the book.

1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

Love's mystery lying behind the truth and lies

Melissa Foster's Megan's Way (a finalist in the 2010 Next Generation Indie Book Awards) deals with death, secrets, and loving relationships, all viewed from an intriguingly different, non-judgmental point of view. Mom Megan is close friends with Holly and her husband, but even closer to daughter Olivia. But Olivia's teen years are shaping up to be trouble. Mom's not communicating enough, doesn't listen, doesn't tell, and Olivia turns worry for her mother into worrying behavior, sending their relationship spiraling.

At times I wanted to take the author's characters aside and beg them just to tell the truth-a tribute perhaps to how real they seem. But the author cleverly avoids that temptation, instead delving into the complex realities of truths kept hidden for the benefit of others. The story behind the relationships drips slowly through inner thoughts of the characters; new motivations reveal themselves and ever more complex secrets come to light. Some things I guessed. Others I had to wait to find out. But the mystery's not the real point of the story, and neither are the curious rituals and prayers that Megan leads, nor the seeming magic of her relationship with Olivia. With influences from many different spiritual paths, the characters learn and remind each other that opportunities abound in life and death, and that giving up is never the right response.

For different reasons, each character is tempted to give up on the love they share in the course of this tale. Their story's not an easy one, but their hope and perseverance is inspiring, and the complex honesty of keeping secrets becomes neither good nor bad-just a way to move on. Megan's Way is a hard novel to classify; it follows a path through several different genres, not quite family drama, nor paranormal mystery, nor coming-of-age, nor spiritual; the story, like the characters, is complex and passes through clear and distinct stages. For myself, I enjoyed the later parts best as Olivia's character evolved, but another reader would choose a different favorite. Not a novel for readers seeking straight-forward story-telling, or triumphant traditional values, this is a tale that will make readers think and leave them content to know the whole truth's still more than we've heard, and the whole love more than we can tell.



Disclosure: I received an ecopy of this book from the author in exchange for an honest review

1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

Bridget's Review

Megan finds out that her cancer has come back. On top of dealing with her current condition, she is also stuck in the middle of making a very difficult decision concerning her daughter, Olivia, and her best friend. All three are coping with the development of possibly loosing Megan. Secrets are revealed, lives are changed and difficult decisions are impossible to ignore.

Megan's Way is touching story about a mother's love. This is a great book for all women. We've all hit rough patches and we've all had to make decisions that we wish we could avoid. I'm sure you will find it easy to relate to the women in this book and it will remind you or the group of sisters that are your life long friends.

1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

Slow!

I didn't finish this book.... too slow!

Good Read

I really enjoyed this book.

Oh my god what a twist.

It's a good read. While in hospital i read this and made me feel strong and positive. Keep tissues near by.
I really enjoyed Megans character she WAS amazing.

A good read!!

Plot was good and I would recommend this for a quick read. A little slow at first but not too bad as you read on.
kinters6

Just OK

In my opinion, this book was just ok. The plot became a bit rambling and repetitive at times. The ending was a bit abrupt and seemed as if the author just wanted to end it. Don't get me wrong, Megan's Way was readable and sweet, just not a great book.

Love it

I have never read a book that made me cry as though I were watching a sad movie. I felt more emotional during this read than during any other book I have ever read. I would love to know how the story ends. A trilogy would be wonderful. Thank you.

Having a hard time getting through it....

I bought this book because of the reviews but I honestly think I am reading a different book from the rest of you. The whole book is so unbelievable. Mom can psychically feel the physical pain of her daughter? Really? The friend is breathing down her neck to get her daughter when she is gone? The relationships do not ring true. There is no real depth to them. I am going to give it 50 more pages then that's it (I'm at page 105 now.) Unfortunately, it does seem odd that almost all of the reviews are gushing about this book. Makes me wonder....

Enjoyed the book

I enjoyed this book, as a Christian I didn't agree with her post death opinions, but it was still a good read.

A Treasure of a story.

I haven't read this good of a book in a very long time. I loved each character and the way the author developed them. I could tell the author loved them too. Well done. The ending left me a bit empty, but it's still worth the read. I'll be looking forward to reading more of her work.

Good book

Really makes you treasure your loved ones but at times was slow and kinda dragged out.

Thoughtful take on life after death

Beginning seemed a little slow and things could have been more developed but by the middle of the book when the big questions needed to start having answers I found those answers to be thought provoking and heartfelt.

You will cry, but that's a good thing.

It's not often an author can write dialogue or a certain scene that will hit me "right there" to where I actually shed a tear, but author Melissa Foster did make me cry - more than once - while I read her debut novel Megan's Way. This was a good thing. It's always a nice treat to me when an author can make me feel any emotion strongly - be it sadness, joy, anger, fear or so on. I always find it interesting to learn different viewpoints on life and death, and the author covered this matter from several angles, including "the afterlife" aspect. Even though what the characters believe and the rituals they perform are quite different than my own spiritual background, the author wrote about this in such a way that I found this part of Megan's Way very enjoyable and intriguing to read. I admit that I know part of my positive reaction to this book was based on an "I can relate" feeling. My husband's older brother died this last Christmas Eve in a car wreck and left behind a wife and three young children. This unexpected death, with no chance for one last goodbye or to say things one wants to say or ask things one wants to ask, and the extremely heavy emotional weight this kind of scenario puts on family and friends - it has many of the same emotional complexities involved that were covered in Megan's Way. How will loved ones deal with the death of someone dear to them, especially when that death happened at a fairly early age and happened without warning? This novel has multiple emotional issues going on, but the main subject matter deals with a single mom (Megan) who is dying of cancer and how Megan handles her fate on many levels, mostly those struggles concerning her teen daughter Olivia. How will Olivia deal with the news if she finds out her mom has decided to not take any cancer treatments this time around in order to expedite her own death? How will Olivia's life and those lives of Megan's closest friends Holly, Jack and Peter, be damaged if Megan reveals who Olivia's father is before Megan dies? The other internal and external conflicts in this story are: how Megan herself feels about dying; how Megan's best friend Holly will cope with being Olivia's guardian; how Holly has her own very serious secret to wrestle with revealing or not before Megan goes on to the next life; how Megan's close friend Jack, who is also Holly's husband, would act toward others if Megan disclosed a certain secret to him before she passes; and how Megan's other close friend Peter, will lead his life if another important woman in his life leaves him. Like I said - so many emotions and scenarios are covered in this relatively short novel, yet I think the author did a very good job of pinpointing the most acute feelings of each character with such realism that readers will still be able to get to know each character enough to "feel for them" and enough so that the reader will cry. (The reader will feel other emotions too don't worry!) I have added Melissa Foster's second book Chasing Amanda to my list of books to read!