To Say Goodbye by Lindsay Detwiler is a romance that asks and answers some of the big questions of life; how to grieve, how to move forward and how to learn to love again. Sophia, a woman in early thirties, has the life she always dreamed of having, married to her soul mate, Tim, running her own hair salon in partnership with her best friend, and contemplating adoption as a way to solve their inability to conceive when tragedy strikes. Her lawyer husband, Tim, has a fatal heart attack at work and for Sophia, her life is over. She just wants to throw herself on top of Tim’s coffin and spend eternity with him. Jackson was Tim’s inseparable childhood friend, who has also suffered loss, with his wife leaving and taking his beloved son with her. Jackson is slowly sinking into the abyss of alcoholism. Can these two lost and bereft souls find comfort in each other and move on?

This story had the potential to be dark and maudlin, but Detwiler’s writing managed to ensure that was not the case. Although it is full of grief, angst, loss and pain, there is a thread of hope that runs through it, lifting it out of what could have been a dark morass. I felt the author’s ability to draw us into the two principal characters' lives, and to allow us to empathise and root for them, shows true skill on her part. She pulls no punches in describing the pain of loss, the guilt of moving on and the difficulty for Sophia to build new memories that didn’t include her beloved Tim. Although this is not my genre, I was moved deeply by this tale and was glued to the story from beginning to end. Ultimately, To Say Goodbye is a celebration of life and triumph over adversity, and is a wonderfully written and crafted story. Kudos to Lindsay Detwiler.

In To Say Goodbye by Lindsay Detwiler, Sophia's entire life was shattered when she lost the love of her life. There was no point in trying to live. Tim's death took with it her will to live. Three months later, there was no change and if it was not for her best friend and business partner, who urged her to give life another try, she would have been content to stay home and wither away. Jackson, Tim's former best friend, was also dealing with a loss of his own. His ex-wife ended his dreams when she left him and took his son with her. As each struggles to find their footing again, Sophia and Jackson are in desperate need of a reason to go on. Could they find it in each other, or is their emotional baggage too much?

To Say Goodbye by Lindsay Detwiler is a very touching story that captures the characters' raw emotions, drawing you into their painful healing journey. Although a work of fiction, the story has many valuable lessons in dealing with loss. It highlights the importance of a strong support system, which in this case came in the form of Sophia's best friend and her parents, and later Jackson. The story also takes the reader through the stages of grief, including accepting the loss of the most important person in your life, allowing yourself to grieve, slowly and painfully picking up the shattered pieces of your life, gluing them back together, and learning to live again. In the end, Lindsay Detwiler delivers an important message that living in a world where your better half does not exist anymore is the most difficult thing, but it is not impossible; that healing might be slow and painful, but it can be done.

To Say Goodbye by Lindsay Detwiler is a beautiful story with a huge emotional and psychological conflict, a contemporary romance that will have readers on the edge of their seats. At the beginning of the story, Sophia, an energetic and engaging woman has just lost the love of her life, Tim, and is grieving. It feels like nothing will ever be the same again for her. It feels as if her very life has been taken away. But things take a sudden turn when Jackson enters her life. After his stint in the army, Jackson comes home to find life quite the opposite of what he expected, and he can’t deal with it. Here are two people with a past that has left them both broken, but who feel strongly drawn to each other. Can they move past their hurts and find healing love in each other or would it be the right thing to say goodbye?

I love books that take me on a trip into the psychology and the hearts of the characters and To Say Goodbye is one such book. In a well-crafted book with a strong storyline and amazing characters, the reader will easily connect to the characters. Lindsay Detwiler knows how to unveil the most complex emotions in her characters and remind readers of the conflict that takes place in their own hearts. I was hooked from the very beginning of the story and reading about Sophia’s pain left me connected, because I have been there. I wanted to know what she’d do with her grief. The characters have depth and the crisp writing will have the reader enticed and completely seduced. This is a beautiful story simply told, a powerful romance with an unpredictable plot.

To Say Goodbye by Lindsay Detwiler is a fictional contemporary romance novel that would appeal most to a mixed audience of young adults and adults who enjoy romance after loss. Sophia is a woman who has always lived life to the fullest extent, and had a fairy tale marriage in what she thought would be a happily ever after life. However, this all changed when her husband, Tim, was taken from her before his time; the loss leaves her heart shattered in a million pieces and unsure if she has the will to go on without him. An old friend of her late husband might just be the light at the end of the tunnel that she needs to put her life and heart back together. Yet, should she become involved with Jackson or remain forever loyal to the memory of her deceased husband?

To Say Goodbye by Lindsay Detwiler has a cover that demonstrates the feelings of love between the two main characters. This book took me on a wild ride of emotional highs and lows as I tried to keep reading without allowing myself to become too depressed on behalf of Sophia. Sophia was a wonderfully written and developed character that seemed so real I felt like I could reach out and touch her. The way that she forced a smile on her face and adopted the appearance of happiness when she felt that her world was crumbling took true strength, and I felt that I could understand what she was doing and why she was doing it. My favorite part in the whole book was when she met Jackson, as that was the moment when I felt hope had reentered her life!

Such a touching, gripping read. From the very first word to the last period, I was swept away in Lindsay Detwiler's moving novel and terrific storytelling.