Planning to Live, by Heather Wardell

Rhiannon plans every aspect of her life.  Daily goals, weight loss, work progress.  She never planned to fall in love, however, and she certainly never planned on having that love ripped away from her.  Fate threw all of Rhiannon's plans for quite a loop, and she has been struggling to regain control ever since.  It takes a horrific car accident to show Rhiannon how little she is actually in control of, and how much her struggle for control has actually prevented her from living her life.  So what does she do know, when she actually wants to plan to live?

I have been struggling to write this review for days, because it is hard to review this book without giving spoilers.  And I refuse to give spoilers, because I really, really want you to read it.  We ALL need to read this book, there is so much we can learn from it.  This book broke my heart with every single page, and by the end, as the big fat tear drops rolled down my face, I was saddened and joyful all at once.  This book and its message has so much power.

Rhiannon's character is a perfectionist, to which I can relate.  Hard on herself about her weight, her job, every little misstep.  Goodness, I have been there, and I bet you have been too, which is why it is so easy to fall instantly in love with her character.  From the opening scene, which is so dramatic, you feel her pain, her joy, her sorrow, her devotion.  Rhiannon is like flesh and blood, and I became so attached to her through this book.  Never so much have I wanted a character to get her happy ending, because never so much has a character deserved it as Rhiannon. 

The plot is dramatic, without being melodramatic.  It moves fluidly between past and present, memories of years past and days past.  I found myself lying in my bed, devouring this book, I could not get enough.  The point of this book is that we get so caught up in the details of life that we forget to simply live, a lesson that Rhiannon does learn, and through her, we learn too.  We learn to savor the small moments of life, bite by bite, much like I savored this book, much like I hope you now will as well. 




A review copy of this book was provided courtesy of the author.