readhikerepeat's review against another edition
3.0
When I first picked up Did You Ever Have a Family by Bill Clegg, I didn’t know much about its content. I knew that it had overwhelmingly positive reviews and, based on the title, that it was an emotionally heavy read, but that was about it. It turns out that my assumption was true and it’s easy to see why this book is so popular – it’s well-written, fairly short, and packs an emotional punch. It is the story of a loss so great that even the strongest would have trouble surviving it.
June Reid is one of these people, for in a single moment, she loses her entire family – her ex-husband, boyfriend, daughter, and future son-in-law are all gone. Struggling to take it all in, she flees her hometown in Connecticut, a place where everyone knows everyone and everyone has an opinion about what happened. Armed with only a few necessities, she finds herself clear across the country living in a daze of grief and disbelief while, unbeknownst to June, life back home moves on and the truth about what really happened comes to light.
If you’re thinking this sounds like an emotionally heavy read, you would be right. This is, perhaps, the most emotionally-driven novel I have read in a long time. Although the story focuses on June, Did You Ever Have a Family has several narrators, all of whom were directly affected by the event that took their loved ones from them. The result is a multifaceted perception of what happened that night and leaves each person asking their own what ifs? As with real people, the characters respond to trauma in different ways, and Clegg lifts the curtain on the full spectrum of human emotions that come with profound loss.
For the full review, visit The Book Wheel.
June Reid is one of these people, for in a single moment, she loses her entire family – her ex-husband, boyfriend, daughter, and future son-in-law are all gone. Struggling to take it all in, she flees her hometown in Connecticut, a place where everyone knows everyone and everyone has an opinion about what happened. Armed with only a few necessities, she finds herself clear across the country living in a daze of grief and disbelief while, unbeknownst to June, life back home moves on and the truth about what really happened comes to light.
If you’re thinking this sounds like an emotionally heavy read, you would be right. This is, perhaps, the most emotionally-driven novel I have read in a long time. Although the story focuses on June, Did You Ever Have a Family has several narrators, all of whom were directly affected by the event that took their loved ones from them. The result is a multifaceted perception of what happened that night and leaves each person asking their own what ifs? As with real people, the characters respond to trauma in different ways, and Clegg lifts the curtain on the full spectrum of human emotions that come with profound loss.
For the full review, visit The Book Wheel.
whitmc's review against another edition
4.0
Well done-story of love and loss. I expected a different plot/structure and different emotions than I got, but it was a nice surprise. Fast read--did half in one day and got utterly absorbed. It's a good book that does that.
nglofile's review against another edition
5.0
Here’s someone she understood. Someone alive but destroyed.
Though these sentences appear in the final pages, they provide the undercurrent for much of this incredible narrative. This is a book that hinges on one dramatic and devastating tragedy, but as the characters’ contributions are pieced together, a mosaic of life events, choices, or injustices are also laid bare. Very few can fully identify with the unimaginable loss of the inciting event; however, nearly all will feel the gut-punch of the ‘lesser’ losses that might also leave someone “alive but destroyed.” That incorporation doesn’t make this a depressing book. In a near-pointillist style, it is a book of beauty, of elegance, and of hope.
I concede there’s no way to characterize the plot of this story that doesn’t make it sound hard. Additionally, the choice to tell via multiple narrators (identified only minimally and with varying degrees of importance) can be a barrier to many a reader, especially those weary of how often this is used in contemporary writing. This may sound as though I'm trying to warn casual readers away. Quite the opposite, what I'm encouraging is to set preconceptions aside, give it a chance, and discover that the life narrative is worth it. It’s incredibly worth it.
In preparation for discussion leading, I usually engage in at least two reads: one in which I dip in and out, one in which I fully immerse. This, I enthusiastically attest, is a book that benefits by immersion. Don’t be afraid that sorrow will engulf you. The surprise is that giving yourself over to the flow of the author’s vision reveals an understanding of others that only lightens the experience. It opens to better dialogues. It fosters forgiveness. It offers a perspective on life that while not overtly spiritual has much to speak to our souls.
audiobook note: I’d intended my first experience of this work to be via audio, but the author’s reading was so egregiously off-putting that I had to abandon the format after only a few chapters. It genuinely saddens me to think of anyone who may judge the incredible quality of writing by the ruinous choice to have the author himself record the audiobook.
Though these sentences appear in the final pages, they provide the undercurrent for much of this incredible narrative. This is a book that hinges on one dramatic and devastating tragedy, but as the characters’ contributions are pieced together, a mosaic of life events, choices, or injustices are also laid bare. Very few can fully identify with the unimaginable loss of the inciting event; however, nearly all will feel the gut-punch of the ‘lesser’ losses that might also leave someone “alive but destroyed.” That incorporation doesn’t make this a depressing book. In a near-pointillist style, it is a book of beauty, of elegance, and of hope.
I concede there’s no way to characterize the plot of this story that doesn’t make it sound hard. Additionally, the choice to tell via multiple narrators (identified only minimally and with varying degrees of importance) can be a barrier to many a reader, especially those weary of how often this is used in contemporary writing. This may sound as though I'm trying to warn casual readers away. Quite the opposite, what I'm encouraging is to set preconceptions aside, give it a chance, and discover that the life narrative is worth it. It’s incredibly worth it.
In preparation for discussion leading, I usually engage in at least two reads: one in which I dip in and out, one in which I fully immerse. This, I enthusiastically attest, is a book that benefits by immersion. Don’t be afraid that sorrow will engulf you. The surprise is that giving yourself over to the flow of the author’s vision reveals an understanding of others that only lightens the experience. It opens to better dialogues. It fosters forgiveness. It offers a perspective on life that while not overtly spiritual has much to speak to our souls.
audiobook note: I’d intended my first experience of this work to be via audio, but the author’s reading was so egregiously off-putting that I had to abandon the format after only a few chapters. It genuinely saddens me to think of anyone who may judge the incredible quality of writing by the ruinous choice to have the author himself record the audiobook.
geoffry's review against another edition
4.0
Iedereen rouwt op zijn eigen manier, iets wat Bill Clegg op een sublieme manier aantoont in dit boek. Geen meeslepend verhaal of spectaculaire plottwits, maar een teder relaas over verlies en de gevolgen ervan voor mensen zoals jij en ik.
etbishop's review against another edition
4.0
Started a little confusing, with all the different character perspectives, but it was worth the read.
seematterce's review against another edition
4.0
So, this book was very good. It has a good look at different family dynamic and family tragedies and events that happen and how each person handles it. It really pressed in to my feeling for parts of it, and it’s a very emotional read. The only down fall to this is it is a book that you need to focus on. I listened/read it and I would listen and forget whose perspective that chapter was written from so I’d have to go back and look/re-listen to figure it out. It seemed like there was 20 different people telling the story, but that was the whole point to show how one event can affect that many people.
hlogan's review against another edition
3.0
It started out a bit slowly, but I was later drawn into the characters, their stories, and the decisions they made that would haunt them for life.
kellyroberson's review against another edition
4.0
A surprisingly touching book about love and family and loss.
juliabegeman's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
heathersbike's review against another edition
5.0
I listened to the audiobook as read by the author. He just read it - there were no attempts to do voices or anything. I think that was a great way to do it. This story tells itself and doesn't need anything showy.
I enjoyed listening to this story unfold. How all the different storylines weaved together to make the full picture.
Trigger alert - there's a rape that happens off page in the past. It is a brief scene and not a lot of detail. It's at 2:36:50 in the audiobook - Part 3 Rebecca. I think knowing it's coming would help a lot but I have not been raped so I don't really know.
I enjoyed listening to this story unfold. How all the different storylines weaved together to make the full picture.
Trigger alert - there's a rape that happens off page in the past. It is a brief scene and not a lot of detail. It's at 2:36:50 in the audiobook - Part 3 Rebecca. I think knowing it's coming would help a lot but I have not been raped so I don't really know.