Every now and then, we all fall down. In Lindsay Harrel’s novel The Joy of Falling we see two women struggle in their own ways to climb back up after a life-altering tragedy. How I came upon this author, I have zero clue. But this was a fun, fast read that hits you right in the heart and makes you think for days after.
The Low Down
Angela is married to Wes and they have three kiddos. Their lives are full of logistics and meals and a very attitude-y teenager and homework and there isn’t one second of down-time. Eva is married to Brent and don’t have kids yet. Their life is full of adventure and travel and the New York scene. Brent and Wes are brothers. Brent and Wes are thrill-seekers. Brent and Wes tragically passed away in a diving trip.
It’s been over a year and Angela is thisclose to blowing her lid. It’s all too much. She’s had to pick up a second job to make ends meet. Which means that she isn’t home often. Which means she gets a lotta ‘tude from the kids about not being home. And she’s pissed at her dead husband. Pissed that he chose these adventures over his family. Pissed that he dumped this huge load for life on her lap. Pissed that she had to abandon her own dreams when she got pregnant in college many years ago.
Eva looks on the surface that she’s grieving better. She’s volunteering (albeit badly and her coworkers want her to leave). She’s got friends she seems often. She works out. She is living every day in Brent’s honor. But that’s the glitch. Her whole life is now dedicated to making him proud.
Are either of these women ok? Not remotely.
Lace ‘Em Up
Eva gets a surprise call from an ultra-marathon company in New Zealand. Turns out, Brent, Wes and their buddy Marco signed up for a team ultra-marathon. And the deadline to pay the balance is coming up. Eva gets the idea to run in their husbands’ places. Maybe it would be good to shake things up. Perhaps to understand the why behind their need to thrill-seek.
“Maybe if she could understand the changes in Wes during those last years of his life, she could let him go. Move on. Heal. Become more than this shell of a person with all the plans in the world but no real connection to it.”
Un-Expectations
When Angela, Eva, their mother-in-law and Angela’s kiddos relocate for the months leading up to the ultra-marathon, they don’t expect to find their surroundings so beautiful. Or for training to be so welcome. Or for a friendship to finally (finally!!!) bloom between these so-very-opposite sisters-in-law.
Eva doesn’t expect to find a love interest. Especially in someone she knew before her husband passed away. Angela doesn’t expect to unearth her dreams that she buried so far down with piles of resentment. And she certainly doesn’t expect to find a love interest when she’s got exactly zero time for such a distraction.
Neither woman expect to learn the difference between happiness and joy. Especially from their mother-in-law who also lost a husband. How I read this book at this exact week, who knows? But I needed that message of joy. Don’t you just love books that speak to you right when you need to hear something important?!
Go The Distance
Can the women let go of the unicorn idea of happiness and instead seek out joy? Can Angela and Eva form a friendship tied directly to their joint tragedy? Will either grieving force learn how to honor their husband’s while finding color and love in the world again? The Joy of Falling shows very real women explore grief and the slow steps toward finding joy again.
As a runner, I love nothing more than a goal. A deadline. A race to work towards. Marathon? Heck yes! Half-marathon? Sign me up! But it’ll be a cold day in hell when I do an ultra-marathon. This book makes the training seem not-so-terrible. But even this lovely book can’t sway me. 😂