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Albert Camus

Don't walk behind me; I may not lead. Don't walk in front of me; I may not follow. Just walk beside me and be my friend.

Friday, September 28, 2018

How do you recognize the love of your life? Because You’re the Love of My Life by Sarah Kleck

"This is my perfect read. It has Soo many of the emotions that to me makes a Great book and a Great author. When the author makes you feel as if you are actually a part of the story to go through the emotions of the characters with them, then they have truly succeeded. " Wendy, Goodreads

Description:

Published: September 25th, 2018

How do you recognize the love of your life? Do you have butterflies in your stomach? Do you see showers of sparks and fireworks as soon as he steps into the room? Or, is your big love composed of something quieter?

Annie longs for nothing more in her life than someone to love her with his whole heart. With Holden, this wish seems fulfilled, and the two build their own world. But how much pain can happiness bear? When something utterly shocking happens, Annie’s life becomes unstable, and nothing is as it once was. Then, she unexpectedly bumps into her teenage love Seth, and her life is completely thrown off balance—especially when fate intends its own tragic story.

From the Editor:
Because You’re the Love of My Life is a story of love, heartbreak, and more love—romantic and otherwise. As a senior in high school, our protagonist, Annie, takes charge of her life, and she bravely separates herself from a difficult mother and home life, and from recent heartbreak. She moves across the country—without financial or familial support—to attend college at Harvard. “I felt at home in Boston in a way I never had . . . This was right for me,” Annie says.

And, it is true: she blossoms personally, academically, and, then, professionally. Though she fumbles at times in ways that seem utterly human and familiar, she forges friendships, commits to a relationship, and navigates through profound tragedy.

Annie narrates from a point well past when the events of the novel took place and with the perspective gained from that time. Yet, Sarah Kleck renders Annie’s narration so vividly that it seems as if these memories are unfolding in present time. Sarah Kleck’s devotion to Annie’s story shines through sharply written dialogue, authentic detail of culture and place, and a cast of richly rendered characters—among them Grace, Annie’s sassy best friend, and the various loves of Annie’s life.
Because You’re the Love of My Life made me wish I could accompany Annie beyond these pages, and it left me hungry for Sarah Kleck’s next novel.
– Rebecca Friedman, Editor
EXCERPT

Happiness. Unhappiness. What do these words really mean? Did people who were simply happy really exist? Like, really? Their whole lives? Or, well, most of the time. Maybe once there was something like that. People who walked all day through the world with a blissful Dalai Lama grin on their faces. But when I walked down the street, I saw a different picture. Grim, sad, dissatisfied faces wherever I looked. I’d only very rarely meet people who seemed to be generally happy in life. 

The more I thought about it, the more it became clear to me: happiness isn’t a state. At least, not a lasting one. No, happiness is more like a snapshot. There are occasional rays of light that make life worth living. That let people glance over things that just didn’t go so well. To comfort them about what they regret, what dissatisfies them, and what makes them unhappy. Only snapshots—seconds and minutes of bliss amid our pitiful existence. An intoxication to which we devote ourselves and which, as soon as the effect wears off, torments us with hellish symptoms of withdrawal. 

But was it really that crushing? Were we all just swinging from one happy moment to another in the jungle of our dreary existence? 

Yes, probably. We always live for our next happy moment, bridging the wide gap with memories of the last one. That way everything remains bearable. 

But what if the moments of bliss were no longer sufficient to make up for the rest? What if the bad parts took over? Is happiness only an illusion then?

About the author:
Sarah Kleck was born in 1984 in Southern Germany. She studied education, psychology, and sociology at the University of Augsburg. Today, she lives with her husband and their daughters in Germany near Lake Constance. 

Sarah caught the imagination of 120,000 readers worldwide with her first novel "The Concealed" and its sequel "The Revealed". After this successful fantasy series for young adults, she is now entering new territory with "Because You're the Love of My Life". Already a bestseller in Germany, this novel is now being published in English.

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1 comment:

Angela Saver said...

So neat that this is already a bestseller in Germany! It sounds good to me too!