How to Walk Away (Large Print / Paperback)
Staff Reviews
Margaret is living her best life—with a new MBA, an almost definite fabulous job offer, and her almost fiancé Chip—when things go terribly wrong. Like crash and burn, paraplegic wrong.
Faced with her new, shocking life, Margaret goes between the expected emotions of grief, denial, depression, defiance. But she has a battery of enforcements, from the typical Mom and Dad (with some surprising baggage as it turns out) to her estranged sister to a physical therapist with issues of his own.
Katherine Center comes up with her best novel yet, with funny, snappy dialogue and a smart, sympathetic (but never pathetic) heroine. Think “Me Before You” with the fun and tenderness but without the sad thoughts!
Highly recommended for a feel-good read.
— CynthiaMay 2018 Indie Next List
“How to Walk Away deals with a tragic situation evoking emotions of despair, humor, pity, and love. Margaret has a full life, a wonderful boyfriend, a new job, and an exciting future, but this is all taken away when a plane accident leaves her paralyzed. Katherine Center creates a character so vivid that the reader can relate to her denial, self-pity, humor, and, finally, her acceptance as she copes with her new reality and begins to truly understand herself, what she is capable of doing, and whom she is capable of loving. This is a heartwarming and sensitive story that captivated me from beginning to end.”
— Fran Duke, Where the Sidewalk Ends, Chatham, MA
Description
From the author of Happiness for Beginners comes the instant New York Times Bestseller (May 2018), an unforgettable love story about finding joy even in the darkest of circumstances.
Margaret Jacobsen is just about to step into the bright future she's worked for so hard and so long: a new dream job, a fianc� she adores, and the promise of a picture-perfect life just around the corner. Then, suddenly, on what should have been one of the happiest days of her life, everything she worked for is taken away in a brief, tumultuous moment. In the hospital and forced to face the possibility that nothing will ever be the same again, Maggie must confront the unthinkable. First there is her fianc�, Chip, who wallows in self-pity while simultaneously expecting to be forgiven. Then, there's her sister Kit, who shows up after pulling a three-year vanishing act. Finally, there's Ian, her physical therapist, the one the nurses said was too tough for her. Ian, who won't let her give in to her pity, and who sees her like no one has seen her before. Sometimes the last thing you want is the one thing you need. Sometimes we all need someone to catch us when we fall. And sometimes love can find us in the least likely place we would ever expect. How to Walk Away is Katherine Center at her very best--a masterpiece of a novel that is both hopeful and hilarious; truthful and wise; tender and brave.About the Author
KATHERINE CENTER is the author of several novels, including Happiness for Beginners, The Bright Side of Disaster, Everyone Is Beautiful, Get Lucky, and The Lost Husband. Her books and essays have appeared in Redbook, People, USA Today, Vanity Fair, and Real Simple, as well as the anthologies Because I Love Her, CRUSH, and My Parents Were Awesome. Katherine is a graduate of Vassar College and the University of Houston's Creative Writing Program. She lives in Houston with her husband and two sweet children.