4 Stars
I’m just finished with the 2nd book in the Walsh family series, Rachel’s Holiday. As surprised as I am to say this, it was completely different from Watermelon. Keyes manages to maintain the strengths of her first novel while really improving upon her ability to pace upon the story. I loved it! 100% enjoyed every page, found it to be well-written, compelling, with interesting and funny characters.
The story center’s on the 3rd of the Walsh sisters, Rachel (shocker I know), as she comes to terms with a drug addiction. It begins with her overdosing and quite near dying, thus leading her friends, family, and boyfriend Luke to encourage her to enter a rehab facility. And then her family tells her how disappointed they are with her. And her best friend says she wants Rachel out of her life. And Luke breaks up with her. As she enters rehab Rachel is filled with anger and the reader is filled with a desire to know how she made it to this place.
Slowly, Keyes unwinds Rachel’s story, giving the reader insight bit by bit as to why and how she became so dependent on drugs. I felt as if I was working with Rachel through her addiction and seeing her as she saw herself. She unfolds like an onion, one layer at a time until we are left with the heart of her pain and a complete understanding of the turmoil it has caused. Rachel’s interactions with the other patients (she refers to them as “inmates”) are hilarious but insightful and Keyes does not attempt to disguise the reality of addiction. Rachel’s flashbacks to her experiences with drug use give the reader a purposeful view of the reality of a user and the havoc they wreak on themselves and those around them.
This novel is poignant and completely enhanced my understanding of addiction and its nature. Marian Keyes has been very open about her own alcohol addiction and depression as well as her subsequent rehabilitation and sobriety. I loved that this was chic-lit that was about more than a love story (all though don’t worry you romantics, there is one!). It is a stunningly heart-breaking tale of a woman who has broken her own heart her whole life and now has to make the choice to love herself. Here is a quote from Rachel post-rehab as she considers going through life not dependent on her best friend, Brigit:
I didn’t want to go on living, if I didn’t have the life I had with Brigit.
I thought I’d never get over it.
But I did. In a matter of days.
And I was so suffused with pride that I’d gone through something so painful and hadn’t taken drugs. Then I felt a strange relief that I wasn’t tied to Brigit anymore. It was nice to know I could survive without her, that I didn’t need her approval or endorsement.
I felt strong, standing alone without crutches.
Gigi Explains It All 