Book: “This Close To Okay” by Leesa Cross-Smith
Genre: Fiction
Rating: 4/5 Stars
Blogger’s Note: Thank you to Grand Central Publishing for the gifted copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
Content/Trigger Warnings: Self Harm/Suicide
“This Close To Okay” is a heart touching tale about the importance of connection, friendship and love. The book opens with Tallie who is a mental health professional. She is driving across a bridge and happens to spot a man about to jump off the bridge. Tallie stops and tries to help the man off the ledge. The book details the situation and what follows. The novel is told from different points of view (both Tallie’s and the man’s) which provides an in depth look into the plot as well as allows the reader into the mind of both main characters.
Kindness, patience and forgiveness are main themes in the book. The emotionally charged situations are tough to read at times and will leave a lasting impact on readers. However, there were a few instances where the characters behave in a way that was someone unbelievable. I would venture that most people would not take home a suicidal stranger and invite them into their home. Someone trained in mental health would be even less likely to do such things, but if you can suspend your disbelief and move past this… the rest of the story is fabulous. I enjoyed the second half of the book more than the first as I settled into the reading and storyline.
Author Leesa Cross-Smith’s writing was beautiful, simple, clear and easy to read. I really appreciated the author’s style and would definitely pick up another book written by her!
Recommendation: This book would be great for anyone interested in mental health or wanting to read a novel centering on that topic. It is triggering at times and heavy but hopeful overall, so keep that in mind when deciding to pick it up.
Literature & Lattes 