Today’s team review is from Liz, she blogs here https://lizannelloyd.wordpress.com/
Liz has been reading Love, Loss and Moving On by Lorie Kleiner Eckert
Where to begin? This book was a total surprise- part memoir, part fantasy and one way of dealing with loss, guilt and loneliness. And any book which gives a detailed description of the life and films of actor, Bill Nighy can’t be bad.
Lorie Kleiner Eckert relates events during 2015, two years after the death of her long-term partner, Big Irv, via her diary entries, some of her “Slice of Life” newspaper columns and fan letters to Bill Nighy. She is witty and informative. Supported by good friends, Lorie shares regular visits to movies, prepares weekly dinners for her children and grandchildren and runs a craft day each Monday for her youngest grandchildren. Being of a similar age, I admire her energy tremendously, but she was aware that she had not come to terms with Irv’s death from cancer or her guilt at turning him out of her house.
An amazingly creative lady she had previously produced stunning quilts with simple, important messages spelt out in the designs but now she felt unable to return to her craft. Then she responded to the suggestion of writing The Book of Irv with sections on Good Stuff, Bad Stuff and Ugly Stuff. Working through these topics she tells us about their relationship and how despite their love for each other he made life impossible by trying to keep her family away. Interspersed with the fan letters she sent to Bill and those she wrote but did not send, Lorie works out what she wants from the future but she also helped me, the reader, to see echoes in my own life when I had to deal with the death of my mother.
The best thing about reading “Love, Loss, and Moving On” is that I have found a person to follow, whose blogs and motivational articles speak personally to me.
“Love, Loss, and Moving On” captures the universal truths about the risks and rewards of relationships when you’re a woman of a certain age. With a relatable style both hilarious and heart-rending, Lorie Kleiner Eckert shares her grief, loneliness, and curiosity as she processes her past to create a rich, fulfilling future for herself. Lorie comes to terms with the death of her longtime partner, coping with her uncertainties by connecting with good friends, writing to work through her emotions, searching the Internet, and eating her fair share of ice cream. (Oh, and there’s also the matter of falling head over heels for a certain handsome British actor known for his bespoke navy suits.) “Love, Loss, and Moving On” will have readers laughing, crying, and above all, nodding in recognition as they travel Lorie’s path with her, gaining strength and inspiration for their own journeys into what comes next.
Rosie Amber 