The Things We Cannot Change: A Story About the Ghosts Created By Addiction by Allison Spooner, eBook, 198 pages
Synopsis from GoodReads: When Callie's dad died, she was sad. When he came back, she was furious. Nearly a year has passed since Callie’s father lost his battle with alcoholism. If you ask her, everything is fine (thank you very much). She's almost done with her first year of college, and she’s nearly succeeded in locking away the painful memories of her father and their life together. Never mind the recurring nightmares haunting her every night since his death. Or the sudden appearance of his ghost.
Now face-to-face with the source of her nightmares & guilt, Callie is forced to confront whatever unresolved issues might be keeping the ghost of her father tied here, before it's too late for either of them to find peace. As she searches for truth within the murky waters of memory and faces life after losing a loved one to addiction, Callie discovers that closure isn’t always about finding clear answers. Sometimes, the things we cannot change are the things that change us the most.
BOOK REVIEW: Saying that I had the honor to read this book prior to it's release would be an understatement. I cannot tell you the number of times that I cried during the reading of this book. I cannot tell you how many tissues I should have used instead of my shirt (for tears you weirdos) or that I had to flip my pillow multiple times from the tears that soaked it. Here's the thing about this book. While the author has stated that this is a work of fiction, it is based on the loss of her father who passed from an alcohol addiction when she was 15. If you watch her IG posts or her TikToks for the month of September 2024, she shares bits and pieces about the book and the writing process and even mentions that some of the things that happen to Callie, conversations and such, happened in real life for her.
I don't normally highlight quotes but I did for this book. There are several but I want to share the first time I cried with y'all. This comes from chapter 4 when Callie is remembering a time when her dad was drunk and asked her to dance with him even though he couldn't stand up straight. "Maybe if I'd rested my head on his shoulder, he would have realized I still needed him. I might have been distant and guarded, but as much as I tried to fight, as much as I try to deny it now, a girl needs her dad." I'm sending a list of my highlights and notes that I made to the author and will ask her if I share them all on social media once the book releases or if I can sprinkle them in without context but y'all...
This is a 5 star read. This is one of the best books I've read so far this year. This is right up there with The Starling Inn. I love it so much! It makes me wish that I was rating books on a 10 point scale so I could double the rating. That's how much I enjoyed this book. I highly recommend you watch her videos that I mentioned above and if it peeks your interest, this book comes out on 9.30.24 and is available to preorder in paperback from B&N and can preorder the ebook on Amazon. This is yet another book that I want a physical copy of once it is released!
5/5 Stars
2024 Reading Challenge: 41/50 complete
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