thathappyreader's review against another edition
4.0
4.5 stars
Do you know the feeling your get when you read a book and know you’re going to remember it for the rest of your life? That’s how I feel about How To Save a Life. While the subject matter is emotional, the writing is beautiful and the story is magical. I am a sensitive reader and shy away from books I feel will be depressing. Let me assure you this is an uplifting read and one I encourage readers to consider.
I enjoy reading Kristin Harmel’s books as she does a wonderful job of taking life challenges and turning them into something positive and moving. How to Save a Life takes a pediatric oncology nurse who learns of her inoperable brain tumour. She learns from her young patients with terminal illnesses of their own about the magic of the tree in the hospital’s lobby which provides them with the ability to repeat the current day over and over.
The selflessness of this nurse facing her impending death is remarkable. She takes it upon herself to improve the last days of her terminal patients and begins examining all she would like to accomplish in her remaining days. There is clear messaging here about living in the moment and making every day count.
I listened to the audiobook version of this book which was narrated by Christina Sivrich. Her performance was excellent – I enjoyed the sweet and compassionate way she delivered each word. The audiobook was published recently, while the original novella was published in 2016. I would recommend the audiobook version of this book to those that enjoy this format.
I would like to add that on the day I am writing this (January 4) the author released on social media her own cancer diagnosis and need for chemotherapy. In addition to being a successful author, she is a co-host of the Youtube and Facebook live weekly production of Friends & Fiction. Please join me in wishing her a full and speedy recovery.
Do you know the feeling your get when you read a book and know you’re going to remember it for the rest of your life? That’s how I feel about How To Save a Life. While the subject matter is emotional, the writing is beautiful and the story is magical. I am a sensitive reader and shy away from books I feel will be depressing. Let me assure you this is an uplifting read and one I encourage readers to consider.
I enjoy reading Kristin Harmel’s books as she does a wonderful job of taking life challenges and turning them into something positive and moving. How to Save a Life takes a pediatric oncology nurse who learns of her inoperable brain tumour. She learns from her young patients with terminal illnesses of their own about the magic of the tree in the hospital’s lobby which provides them with the ability to repeat the current day over and over.
The selflessness of this nurse facing her impending death is remarkable. She takes it upon herself to improve the last days of her terminal patients and begins examining all she would like to accomplish in her remaining days. There is clear messaging here about living in the moment and making every day count.
I listened to the audiobook version of this book which was narrated by Christina Sivrich. Her performance was excellent – I enjoyed the sweet and compassionate way she delivered each word. The audiobook was published recently, while the original novella was published in 2016. I would recommend the audiobook version of this book to those that enjoy this format.
I would like to add that on the day I am writing this (January 4) the author released on social media her own cancer diagnosis and need for chemotherapy. In addition to being a successful author, she is a co-host of the Youtube and Facebook live weekly production of Friends & Fiction. Please join me in wishing her a full and speedy recovery.
exercise_read_repeat's review
4.0
Although only 5 hours long, this story is packed with emotion, and it has all the components of a full length book. It was sweet yet devastating. Time loop plot lines don’t always work for me, but this one did.
shawna_reading_for_life's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
lighthearted
reflective
sad
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Cancer and Child death
jsilfen924's review
4.0
A beautiful short story (just 5.5 hours long) that was poignant, raw, and full of emotion. Kristin Harmel has a way of handling sensitive topics with grace and does just that in this novella. I enjoyed the magic realism element to the story as the protagonist was living on a time loop in the days leading up to her death. It was during this time where she got to look at her life in a new perspective and accomplish what she wanted to do knowing the end was near. The audiobook made for easy listening and was extremely well done.
cathy1969's review
fast-paced
4.0
I usually do not like to read serious topic books around the holidays, but it was actually a very hopeful book.
Jill is a pediatric oncology nurse who has been experiencing horrible headaches. She finally goes to the doctor and it is not the news she wants and somehow, her patients see in her the news she has received. Many of them are terminal and decide to share a secret with her that allows her to come to terms with her fate and tie up some loose ends.
If only there could really be just a few more days when we know the end is near, but it was a nice to pretend along with her.
Jill is a pediatric oncology nurse who has been experiencing horrible headaches. She finally goes to the doctor and it is not the news she wants and somehow, her patients see in her the news she has received. Many of them are terminal and decide to share a secret with her that allows her to come to terms with her fate and tie up some loose ends.
If only there could really be just a few more days when we know the end is near, but it was a nice to pretend along with her.
shayneyj's review
4.0
I would like to thank NetGalley, the author and the publisher, for allowing me to download and read this book in exchange for an honest review of this book.
What would you do if you just discovered that you have only weeks left to live? Would you have regrets left unfulfilled? Well, when the 39 year old pediatric oncology nurse receive the devastating news that she has an unoparible brain tumor, her life feels uncompleted. That is until she is told about the tree that enables a chosen few, the ability to relive the same day over again. What follows is heartache, joy, love, confusion and so much more, asking do you ever feel as though you have lived a completed life?
This novella has so many emotions and makes you think about you own mortallity and what you would do if you found out that you had only several days, weeks or months left to life?. There were moments I found pure joy and happiness and others that were so filled with sadness and emotional. It was such an unexpected little gem in my mind, that I wasn't expecting to enjoy as much as I did. It was nice to see the differences between how a child aged 10 years old may feel, compared to a 39 year old looks at how uncompleted their life is and even a ninth year old.
It was beautifully written and it had a great message that you should live your life while your alive and not to stress about the little things, such as the small arguments for the sake of arguing and pride. But to forgive and remind people that you love them everyday because you don't know what could happen tomorrow. This isn't usually my type of book, but knowing people who have died from cancer and even suddenly from a stroke, it made me think how precious those little moments are.
I honestly don't know what I think of the ending. I don't know if I like it or not, because it could be either happy or sad, depending or how you choose to look at it. For this, I am giving this 4 out of 5 stars.
What would you do if you just discovered that you have only weeks left to live? Would you have regrets left unfulfilled? Well, when the 39 year old pediatric oncology nurse receive the devastating news that she has an unoparible brain tumor, her life feels uncompleted. That is until she is told about the tree that enables a chosen few, the ability to relive the same day over again. What follows is heartache, joy, love, confusion and so much more, asking do you ever feel as though you have lived a completed life?
This novella has so many emotions and makes you think about you own mortallity and what you would do if you found out that you had only several days, weeks or months left to life?. There were moments I found pure joy and happiness and others that were so filled with sadness and emotional. It was such an unexpected little gem in my mind, that I wasn't expecting to enjoy as much as I did. It was nice to see the differences between how a child aged 10 years old may feel, compared to a 39 year old looks at how uncompleted their life is and even a ninth year old.
It was beautifully written and it had a great message that you should live your life while your alive and not to stress about the little things, such as the small arguments for the sake of arguing and pride. But to forgive and remind people that you love them everyday because you don't know what could happen tomorrow. This isn't usually my type of book, but knowing people who have died from cancer and even suddenly from a stroke, it made me think how precious those little moments are.
I honestly don't know what I think of the ending. I don't know if I like it or not, because it could be either happy or sad, depending or how you choose to look at it. For this, I am giving this 4 out of 5 stars.