A NIGHT OWL REVIEWS BOOK REVIEW | Reviewed by: Books4Betty
Planning to Live by Heather Wardell will break your heart, and then it will mend it. This book is a short journey of thirty-something Rhiannon, a weight obsessed goal-seeker, whose priorities are all in the wrong basket.
Christmas evening, the roads are slick, the night is cool and Rhiannon (stupidly) flees her parent’s house in a desperate attempt to avoid any (and all) tempting foods, and winds up off the road wrapped around a tree. Her car, unable to stay straight on the slick roads, skids off the side and becomes buried in snow.
Her foot trapped, bleeding, and bones crunching sickeningly, Rhiannon tries all ways to get free from her car. Each attempt leads her to the brink of physical sickness. When her cell phone is too far out of reach, all she has left is her laptop. In a desperate attempt to keep her wits about her, Rhiannon makes a life changing decision; a decision to flow with the go. Read and you will find out what that means.
Wardell, my hat is off to you. An amazing concept and plot written with one woman trapped in a car. Through a series of flashbacks (and dreams) all of the history the readers need is unfolded. These flashbacks carry the story from topic to topic, opening up Rhiannon’s world; however, I felt closer to Rhiannon in the times where it was just her, me, and the car. Her pain, her fears, her joy, I felt it all. I laughed, I cried, and I cheered for her.
When her body begins to shut down, Rhiannon makes a heartbreaking decision. She chooses to spend her time writing letters to her loved ones. If she dies, the letters will be found. If she lives, she plans on giving them to each loved one. Rhiannon expresses her deepest love for her friends and family in these letters and as each page is turned, Rhiannon’s words and thoughts become more heartfelt.
In the end, Rhiannon realizes just what is important in life. It is not her weight, it is not her work ethics, and it is not seeking goals. Life is about the journey. Life is about being able to answer, “Did you do everything you could do today?” I encourage the readers to see what Rhiannon’s answer was.
To conclude, Planning to Live is absolutely worth the read. Wardell wrote a very heartfelt story that I could not put down. From beginning to end I was completely enraptured. I did knock a few points because I wanted the flashbacks and epilogue to be longer. I wanted more explanations, history, and character interactions than I got. Overall, I suggest everyone be taken on this journey. If you can answer “Did you do everything you could do today” the way Rhiannon did, then Wardell’s book accomplished its purpose.
Feb 03, 2011 |
5 - Rare Top Pick | 4.5 - Top Pick | 4 - I Liked It | 3.5 - Enjoyable | 3 - OK | 2.5 - It just didn't click
Book Blurb for Planning to Live
Thirty-something Rhiannon is an obsessive planner and goal-setter, but somehow nothing she achieves ever seems good enough to her. Determined to lose forty pounds for her best friend's August wedding, Rhiannon flees her parents' house in a Christmas-day blizzard to avoid the temptation of all her favorite foods, but her car skids off the deserted road into a tree.
Unable to escape the car, with her leg trapped and bleeding and her cell phone out of reach, Rhiannon is at first certain she'll be rescued and writes notes to her friends and family to pass the time. As the weather cools and her condition deteriorates, though, she recognizes the possibility that her life might be over. Interspersed with increasingly desperate escape attempts, her letters become deeper and more heart-felt as she comes to see what really matters in life.
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