Author: Juliett Fay
Genre: Contemporary Fiction
Publisher: Avon Books
Release Date: Sept. 21, 2021
Order Link: Amazon
My Rating: 5 Hopeful Hearts
Special thanks to the Avon Books for a copy of this book.
If you love the emotionally complex novels of JoJo Moyes and the dramatic books of Jodi Picoult, you won’t want to miss this newest book about second chances, redemption, and the power of hope from USA Today bestselling author of Shelter Me, Juliette Fay.
Review:
In earlier days, lovers Cass Macklin and Ben McGreavy often hung out with Ben's older brother Scott, but when Cass and Ben's partying turns into full-blown alcoholism Scott backs away. He's the third baseman for the Boston White Sox and can't allow his brother's issues to mess with his head and game. When Ben dies from alcohol poisoning, Scott meets Cass again as they're the only two people at the gravesite. Cass is homeless, penniless and pregnant. She wants Ben's baby and vows to give it a chance in life by getting sober and providing stability for them both. With no means of her own, she turns to Scott and offers him a deal. Give her shelter for a month until she can get back on her feet, and she'll be out of there. Meantime, she'll attend Alcoholic Anonymous, clean his house and get her life in order. Scott reluctantly agrees, but little does he know how this woman with all her issues will turn his life upside down. Catch Us When We Fall is the story of Cass and Scott with all the highs and lows of learning to let go of the past and live for the future.
Catch Us When We Fall is an authentic, heartbreaking story of loss, grief and forgiveness. A story that delves deeply into the lives of alcoholics and those who love them. I found it interesting to follow Cass in her struggles to survive the disease - overcoming the many temptations and pitfalls in day to day living - at first for her unborn child and later for herself. The author does an excellent job of tackling the issue with realism and empathy through emotionally complex characters trying to do the right thing while overcoming their demons. I also enjoyed Scott's journey as he struggles to lay his heartbreaking past to rest and allow himself to give and accept love freely. Although frustrating at times, both characters are easy to pull for. While most of this story is carried by Cass and Scott, I really enjoyed a couple of support characters - Laurel and Kate. Both are also suffering from alcoholism and their lives intertwine in both good and bad ways with Cass's which complicates things. While the tone of this story is dire, there's always a tiny spark of light, of hope they'll make it past the grief, pain, guilt, loneliness and hopelessness to a better life - hope they'll find new, better ways of coping with all life throws at them. Juliette Fay delivers big time in Catch Us When We Fall. I was so engrossed in this story that I read it in one sitting and then sat there and thought about it for awhile. This is a beautiful story of love, loss, forgiveness and finding oneself in the darkness of addiction. It's a story of hope for all who have ever fallen and for all who have been there to catch them when they fell. Highly recommended to everyone!
Synopsis:
On her own since the age of eighteen, Cass Macklin dated brilliant, troubled Ben McGreavy, convinced he was the smartest person she’d ever known. They partied their way through their twenties, slowly descending into a bleak world of binge-drinking and broken promises, inebriated for most of a decade. Now Ben is dead, and Cass is broke, homeless, scared…and pregnant.
Determined to have a healthy pregnancy and raise Ben’s baby, Cass has to find a way to stop drinking and build a stable life for herself and her child. But with no money, skills, or sober friends or family, the task seems insurmountable. At wit’s end, Cass turns to the only person with the means to help her: Ben’s brother Scott, third basemen for the Boston Red Sox, a man with a temper and problems of his own.
The two make a deal that neither one of them is sure they can live up to. As Cass struggles to take control of her life and to ask for help when she needs it, Scott begins to realize there’s a life for him beyond the baseball diamond.
By turns heartbreaking and humorous, with its message that change is not impossible, that forgiveness can be freely given, and that life, though imperfect, is worth embracing, Catch Us When We Fall is a novel you will never forget.
Determined to have a healthy pregnancy and raise Ben’s baby, Cass has to find a way to stop drinking and build a stable life for herself and her child. But with no money, skills, or sober friends or family, the task seems insurmountable. At wit’s end, Cass turns to the only person with the means to help her: Ben’s brother Scott, third basemen for the Boston Red Sox, a man with a temper and problems of his own.
The two make a deal that neither one of them is sure they can live up to. As Cass struggles to take control of her life and to ask for help when she needs it, Scott begins to realize there’s a life for him beyond the baseball diamond.
By turns heartbreaking and humorous, with its message that change is not impossible, that forgiveness can be freely given, and that life, though imperfect, is worth embracing, Catch Us When We Fall is a novel you will never forget.
Juliette Fay is the bestselling author of six novels, including CATCH US WHEN WE FALL, CITY OF FLICKERING LIGHT and THE TUMBLING TURNER SISTERS, a USA Today bestseller and Costco Pennie’s Book Club Pick. Previous novels include THE SHORTEST WAY HOME, one of Library Journal’s Top 5 Best Books of 2012: Women’s Fiction; DEEP DOWN TRUE, short-listed for the 2011Women’s Fiction award by the American Library Association; and SHELTER ME, a 2009 Massachusetts Book Award “Must-Read Book” and an Indie Next pick.
Juliette is a graduate of Boston College and Harvard University, and lives in Massachusetts with her family. Visit her at www.juliettefay.com, Facebook: Juliette Fay author, Twitter: @juliettefay, and Instagram: Juliette_Fay.
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