THE GARDEN OF SMALL BEGINNINGS BY ABBI WAXMAN

Image: Courtesy of Goodreads.com

Rating: 3 of 5 stars

I received an advance copy of The Garden of Small Beginnings by Abbi Waxman from Net Galley. I have not been compensated for this review.

Who says grief can't be funny? In this novel, we meet 34-year old Lilian Girvan (Lili), widowed mother of two daughters - Annabel and Clare, sister to her polar opposite Rachel, and daughter to her brutally honest mother.

Her husband's untimely death, right in front of her on their neighborhood street, understandably emotionally wrecked her life. The book opens after Lilian has a stint in a mental health facility and is back at work as an illustrator for a small publishing company. In an effort to save the business, she's tasked by her boss to attend a six-week gardening class for a related book the company hopes to publish.

Throughout the course of the book, we learn that even though it's been several years since her husband's death Lilian is still grieving. Much of this grieving is self-focused, setting the stage for opportunities of re-evaluation and reconciliation with her family. All the while, she's attending this gardening class where she makes unlikely friends.

I really enjoyed the self-exploration part of this book. I liked how the author developed the main character through the secondary characters. Most of all, I like that the focus was on healing and friendships and not so much about getting a guy to make your life complete. However, there are some romantic elements, but they are not over done. Additionally, there are various "excerpts" about gardening throughout the book, which made it a fun read for this gardening hobbyist. I would have enjoyed the book more if there was a spiritual element to the healing process, but to each his (or her) own!

Recommendation: There are tidbits of goodness in this book with an overall realistic perspective on grief and and healing; however, I felt like some parts were contrived in an effort to create more humor than was necessary. At times the Lilian character was inconsistent and the happily ever after ending tied the story up a little too perfectly for my taste.

Until next time ... Read on!