Reviewed by Emily Maynard for Readers' Favorite

Audrey Meyerwitz is an artist, she’s adopted, and she has debilitating anxiety. With support from the Wellness program and her best friend Jess, she has created a life for herself. With her graphic design business thriving and emotional support available at the touch of a button, Jess thinks Audrey is ready for the next step, and sets her up on a dating website. She goes on a couple of dates, but when the local authority axes Wellness, she expands her search to Canada, a dreamland of funded healthcare and lower living costs. Serendipitously, Audrey meets Denise, a beautiful Quebecoise woman living in Montreal. As their romance blossoms, so does Audrey’s desire to emigrate to Canada. What she couldn’t have foreseen was how moving would expand her world, with new experiences and friendships forming as she worked to build the life she always dreamed of. Falling Through The Night by Gail Schwartz follows Audrey as she leaves the comfort and familiarity of her life to embark on a journey to create the family she’d never had.

Falling Through The Night spans years. It varies in pace, with some chapters focusing on a single event or interaction, and others giving more of an overview of what’s happening over a series of months, mentioning key events or changes. The changes in pace reflect relationships with friends or family. You are aware of certain things, like their work or their relationships, but it’s not until you spend time with them that you get into detail and feel the depth of their experience. This is so cleverly done and is one of the things that I enjoyed most about this book. A significant majority of the characters are female, and it focuses on the experience of being surrounded and supported by other women, which is so refreshing. Each character brings something new to the story and Audrey’s life; the colorful array of personalities comes together and creates a beautiful rich tapestry of love and friendship. Gail Schwartz tackles a range of themes that can be quite difficult to manage, including grief, infertility, and addiction. These skillfully illustrate the adversities that Audrey has to face along the way. I thoroughly enjoyed this book. It was engaging and interesting to read. I love the emphasis on women and their lives without the need for men, the shifting dynamics between the characters, and the descriptions that draw in the reader and capture their imagination. I also commend the author’s realistic and respectful descriptions of anxiety attacks and disorders.