The Life Intended by Kristin Harmel

From the author of the international bestseller The Sweetness of Forgetting, named one of the Best Books of Summer 2012 by Marie Claire magazine, comes a captivating novel about the struggle to overcome the past when our memories refuse to be forgotten.

In this richly told story where Sliding Doors meets P.S. I Love You, Kristin Harmel weaves a heart-wrenching tale that asks: what does it take to move forward in life without forgetting the past?

After her husband's sudden death over ten years ago, Kate Waithman never expected to be lucky enough to find another love of her life. But now she's planning her second walk down the aisle to a perfectly nice man. So why isn't she more excited?

At first, Kate blames her lack of sleep on stress. But when she starts seeing Patrick, her late husband, in her dreams, she begins to wonder if she's really ready to move on. Is Patrick trying to tell her something? Attempting to navigate between dreams and reality, Kate must uncover her husband's hidden message. Her quest leads her to a sign language class and into the New York City foster system, where she finds rewards greater than she could have imagined.

My review :

I was so happy to receive this ARC from NetGalley and i’d like to thank them for it!

This story was so a poignant, deep, emotional read through Kate’s quest about living again.
Kate had everything twelve years ago, a loving husband, a job she loved, a happy life. One day everything was swept away when Patrick died.
From this moment, Kate’s life was under the water, like she was spectator of her own life. She finally met someone and tried to move on, after Patrick’s death. She decided to settle down but Patrick’s shadow, presence is still there. The moment she decided that it’s time to give a chance and found love again; something awoke in her.
She’s having dreams about Patrick and the life she would have if he didn’t died years ago. It’s how i loved reading these parts, so real and disturbing at the same time!
As a music therapist, Kate is helping children by opened up to people, and we can see that she’s very good at, she’s a natural! I like her interactions with them and how she can make them react. She’s talented at it.

All these dreams, seing what she would have, helped her to put this whole issue into perspective, as difficult as it is. Why she couldn’t be excited by the thought of having a second marriage? Why she felt this emptiness in her life?
Each time she dreamt about this life she couldn’t have, the more reality and these dreams collide in a very strange way! Is Patrick tried to send her a message? She experienced this too much and couldn’t find someone to rely on without telling her that she stressed or indeed trapped into this supposed life.

Then the magic happened and Kate is getting sure of what she wants; she learned sign language and met Andrew, her instructor. The thing is, when the two met, we can see the sudden attraction, affection, something we didn’t see in her relationship with Dan.
Kate and Andrew little by little developed a kind of intimate, deep relationship. They created an invisible bound.

Through all the messages that Patrick gave her in her dreams, she discovered herself again and how that the family in her dreams helped her to open her eyes about her life, the meaning of it.
This outstanding, stunning tale about the loss and recovering was so poetic, almost oneiric! I loved the story and the way this book was written, creating a universe unique on its own. The fictional and the reality cohabited in a wonderful way! All these journey leads to the life intended, to move forward.
This book succeed to make me cry, laugh, smile through Kate’s recovering. I knew before i read this book-that i was meant to love it!

I recommend this book without a doubt! One of my favorite books of this year and i will definitively get my copy when it comes out!

* ARC provided by NetGalley for an honest review *

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More about Kristin Harmel : http://kristinharmel.com/