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Never in her wildest dreams did Clara Black imagine she'd fly to Vegas just to eat at America's biggest buffet, or that she'd be digging holes in her mother's backyard to unearth her brother's screechy plastic recorder. But if that's what it takes to get past the car accident that changed her life . . . she'll do what she must.
Eight months after losing her fiancé just before their wedding, Clara still can't seem to escape her fog of sorrow. On a visit to her childhood home, she encounters her fifth-grade time capsule and a very special bucket list written by her ten-year-old self. When she impulsively fulfills one item, Clara finds that revisiting the woman she thought she'd become may just be her way out of grief and back to life. With Milk Dud the one-eared wonder dog, her zany but loving family, and an unexpected someone from her past by her side, Clara discovers that sometimes life's unplanned moments are the sweetest, and sometimes the only bridge to your future is your past.
This is a first time author for me. I would have to say this falls more into general fiction instead of romance like I usually read. It was a enjoyable read that makes a person look more closely at their own lives. I liked how the author worked in the list that was made by a young girl and is done by a adult woman. It's both heart-wrenching and funny at the same time. It will make a nice summer read.
3 out of 3 people found this review helpful.
Was this review helpful? Yes NoThank you for your feedback. Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.Anonymous
Posted Mon Apr 29 00:00:00 EDT 2013
Heart2heart needs to learn how to write a review without revealing the entire book. If you want to do that, pleade go to a blog site and dissect the book to your hearts content, but please, stop ruining the book here. Ppl are sick if you plot spoilers and your book reports revealing every blamed detail of the book. I would like to read a book for myself and be surprised just once and not know already know what happens becausr rude inconsiderate ppl like you have already given away the storyline. Learn to write a review heart2heart.
2 out of 4 people found this review helpful.
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Posted Tue Apr 30 00:00:00 EDT 2013
Touching story of Clara's struggle to regain joy in her life following the tragic death of her fiance just days before the wedding. Well-written.
Was this review helpful? Yes NoThank you for your feedback. Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.Anonymous
Posted Tue Apr 30 00:00:00 EDT 2013
0 out of 1 people found this review helpful.
Was this review helpful? Yes NoThank you for your feedback. Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.Clara Black felt like her life had come to the end of the road. I guess for most of us, we would look at Clara, her situation and give her some time to grieve but then expect her to move forward. And she tried, really she did. She sought out professional ways to help her find her way out of the blackest, deepest pit of despair and depression but nothing seemed to work. Nothing would ever be the same again and just managing to take a breath alone was more work than it should be.
Just eight days before her life would change in ways she had dreamed of since she was a little girl, that dream turned into a nightmare. It began with a simple phone call telling her that her soon-to-be husband, Sebastian was dead, an accident had claimed his life and he wouldn't be coming home to her again, EVER!
She put up the walls and kept people at a distance, even so much that her boss told her to take some time off. He didn't want her jeopardizing any more clients with his firm as an Account Executive and to come back when she felt ready. Would she ever be ready for life again?
Answering a phone call from her brother Leo, he managed to persuade her to return home with him to their mom's home for Thanksgiving. Libby would be able to find a way to get her daughter out of her depression. She had written a jingle for almost every other product in the world and was hoping that between the two of them, they might find a way to reach Clara. However, Clara's help arrived in a surprising cardboard box awaiting her return home. In it would hold the answers that she would need to begin the rebuilding process. A project a 5th grade, Clara worked on and was being returned to her. A time capsule, that 2o years later, would be the turning point in her life. It contained a simple list of the things she had hoped to accomplish before she turned 35, and now just a few months remained before this list of unfulfilled wants and desires would be considered null and void.
That's when Clara decided to take a leap of faith and put her brother's challenge to the test and see just how many of these items she could complete before her 35th birthday. Will she be able to do it, or will her grief beat her to the finish line? To find out, you'll have to pick up Robin Gold's latest novel, Once Upon A List.
I received this delightful novel compliments of Harper Collins Publishers for my honest review and completely fell in love with Clara's character. I couldn't imagine the amount of grief she felt and could see myself responding in similar ways when people came around to help. Unless you've experienced it first hand, it's hard to know what to do or say to help. Robin Gold did an amazing job of putting you write in the heart of things and feeling all the emotions she had to endure during this book of putting her life back in order. I think it's genuine because it was no short order process and there were so many times that Clara fell back into her old ways and grew frustrated. She didn't want to be that way, but there were those old habits and feelings. I admire her courage to keep getting back up and trying again and think this list worked out perfectly for her along with her brother Leo to encourage her along the way.
This makes for the perfect summer read to experience life through Clara's eyes. It truly does put life back into perspective and shows us all how quickly it can change and there is nothing we can do to prevent that from happening. I rate this one a 4.5 out of 5 stars. It does contain some profanity and adult situations but given the subject matter of the book, I think Robin did an exceptional job at keeping this one real.
0 out of 7 people found this review helpful.
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Overview
Never in her wildest dreams did Clara Black imagine she'd fly to Vegas just to eat at America's biggest buffet, or that she'd be digging holes in her mother's backyard to unearth her brother's screechy plastic recorder. But if that's what it takes to get past the car accident that changed her life . . . she'll do what she must.
Eight months after losing her fiancé just before their wedding, Clara still can't seem to escape her fog of sorrow. On a visit to her childhood home, she...