A Quiet Life by Ethan Joella

October 23, 2022

A Quiet Life by Ethan Joella

Three ordinary people experience terrible loss: 70-something Chuck loses his beloved wife to cancer; Kirsten is a young woman just out of college, whose father is murdered in a gas station robbery gone wrong; and Ella's daughter has been taken by her estranged husband. All three are going through the motions of living while trying to come to terms with their grief. They find themselves again when they unexpectedly come together to help each other.

This is a wonderful heartfelt novel that will stay with you long after you finish reading it. It's about grief, it's about loss, it's about how to get up every morning and keep going. Loss takes many forms: losing a spouse, losing a parent, a child gone missing, even the pain of having to give up a beloved pet. It's very much character-driven with each person having to find their way forward. The characters are at different places in their lives but they are all well-developed and you care about them. Part of the reason they are so relatable is because they are regular people: they're not celebrities or super-wealthy or rich and famous. They are nice people who care about others. The story reminded me somewhat of Fredrik Backman's writing where the characters are written with great feeling and often have hidden connections to each other. One of the characters tells others to be someone's cardinal - the cardinal stays through the winter when all the other birds have gone - be there for others when times are good but especially when times are hard. Lovely book, highly recommended.

Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for providing an eARC.

A winter cardinal