So I dove right into this book. I set aside time to sit down and read it after my kids and my husband were in bed. I went as far as to make myself a nice mug of warm milk (hey, well, I gave up sugar for Lent so hot chocolate was out of the question) and got all cozy in a chair with a blanket. I was ready for this book. I’ve been reading the blog for so long and the journalist in me (as morbid as this seems) wanted details. How could things go so terribly wrong? What happened in their last minutes alone together? How could he even put in words what went on when he realized something terrible had happened? And I would get to all that, but not in part one.
In part one, we get to see the love. And it seemed somewhat—perfect. They made great decisions, survived long-distance relationships, had amazing moments and enjoyed life together. I’m sure if my husband died tragically, I’d see all those things in our relationship too. I’m sure that Matt and Liz had some blowouts and screaming matches (say, over a robot he purchased in India) but he didn’t dwell on that at all. He describe the woman he loved, the one he misses every day and the one who is missing from the lives of him and his daughter.
I’ve heard Matt call his blog, “a love letter to the one I lost and the one she left behind.” Beautifully put. And this book feels like that same love letter. I love how he discusses that they both chose to study abroad but didn’t tell each other where so that they didn’t impact the others decision….but then they both ended up in the same place. I love that they went all over the place and exposed each other to new things: like how he exposed her to different music and she exposed him to snorkling.
I think this section of the book actually brought forth the most detail. The blog now describes Matt’s relationship with Maddy and how he is raising her in the absence of his wife. The book, that describes their love and their life before Maddy, and before even the thought of marriage or children had entered their minds.
Oh, and might I just comment on how DIFFERENT Matt looked back in high school? I mean whoa. I didn’t even think that was the same guy.
So tell me, what did you think about the first part? What did you think about the relationship between Liz and Matt? What were some of the things that made you go “awww?”
