CFRB Blog Tour and Review: Talking to the Dead by Bonnie Grove

Talking to the Dead
by Bonnie Grove

This month, CFRB presents Talking to the Dead by Bonnie Grove.

About the Book:
Is she losing her mind?

Twenty-something Kate Davis can't seem to get this grieving widow thing right. She's supposed to put on a brave face and get on with her life, right? Instead she's camped out on her living room floor, unwashed, unkempt, and unable to sleep-because her husband Kevin keeps talking to her.

Kate's attempts to find the source of the voice she hears areboth humorous and humiliating, as she turns first to an "eclectically spiritual" counselor, then a shrink with a bad toupee, a mean-spirited exorcist, and finally group therapy. There she meets Jack, the warmhearted, unconventional pastor of a ramshackle church, and at last the voice subsides. But when she stumbles upon a secret Kevin was keeping, Kate's fragile hold on the present threatens to implode under the weight of the past. And Kevin begins to shout.

Will the voice ever stop? Kate must confront her grief to find the grace to go on, in this tender, quirky story about second chances.

My Review:
About five chapters into this book I had to put it down to attend to my duties around the house, when I finally had the chance to pick this book back up I read it straight through. Kate's story made me laugh, cheer, and most of the time cry! Definitely have some tissues at hand when you read this one!

I really don't get too emotionally involved in a book but this novel grabbed me. I can't begin to imagine what it would be like to lose a spouse but to have to deal with that and the huge secret Kate discovered after Kevin's death would be too much for anyone to bear. This book really examines what goes on in the head of a grieving widow. The author paints a picture of what life is like when facing mental illness.

I haven't read a book like this in a really long time, I really don't know how Bonnie Grove will top this book!

About the Author:
Bonnie Grove started writing when her parents bought a typewriter, and she hasn't stopped since. Trained in Christian Counseling (Emmanuel Bible College, Kitchener, ON), and secular psychology (University of Alberta), she developed and wrote social programs for families at risk while landing articles and stories in anthologies. She is the author of Working Your Best You: Discovering and Developing the Strengths God Gave You; Talking to the Dead is her first novel. Grove and her pastor husband, Steve, have two children; they live in Saskatchewan.

Purchase Talking to the Dead at
Barnes and Noble, and Amazon.

Check out these other member blogs this week for more info.