Michelle Blanchard Ardillo

Happy. Hopeful. Depressing. Sad. Melancholy. Engaging. Frenetic. Anxious. Tedious. Mad. Bored. Chaotic.

These are all things I felt while reading Maddie Dawson’s 2020 novel A Happy Catastrophe, published by Lake Union Publishing. (Disclosure: I purchased this book on Amazon for my Kindle.) As is sometimes the case, I found out after I had finished it that it is a sequel to Dawson’s 2018 bestseller Matchmaking for Beginners, which I somehow purchased for my Kindle in 2018 and never actually read??? So, sometime soon I will correct that, albeit out of order like some monster. LOL.

I do recall at the very beginning of A Happy Catastrophe mention of female main character Marnie’s back story, a failed marriage, if you can call a two-week old legal commitment “a marriage.” Not having read book #1 did not impede my reading pleasure of book #2.

And, A Happy Catastrophe was overall a very pleasurable reading experience. Is it perfect? NO. I found the first one-third delightful and joyful. I laughed a lot while reading it. I was all-in within just a few pages. The last one-third was heart wrenching and sweet, and while I didn’t actually cry, I did slow my reading down to make it last a bit longer.

However, and here is the BUT, the middle? Just. Too. Long. There is a point in this book where Marnie finally says (not literally), “Enough is enough.” But, it is way too late in my opinion. It’s hard to talk about this without giving away too much, but sometimes you just have to cut your losses and change direction. For your own wellbeing. For your own peace of mind. For the future you. Even if it hurts. A lot. Sometimes doing so is the catalyst to much greater things. More peace. More opportunities. More joy.

I was actually told in a previous long-ago relationship that ending it was what was best for me. At the time, I was devastated and thought my world had ended. I should be the one to decide what was best for me, right? I was sad for a long time. I was undone. I had trouble focusing at work. I didn’t want to go out with friends. I lost interest in food (and if you know me, you would know how bad things must have been). I thought I would never laugh again.

All of that was wrong. After seeking professional help with a trained therapist (not just sobbing with a girlfriend over my situation), I began to heal. I’m not sure I would have ever healed on my own. And, I’m absolutely sure the healing process made me a better person, stronger, less naive, and READY for what came next, the love of my life, my soulmate and husband of over 35 years.

So, let me start with the positives. This book is very engaging. I like Dawson’s writing style. After reading several-in-a-row heavy, complicated family dramas of a more literary nature, this book was perfect for me at the perfect time. I loved the unexpected surprises that occurred, yes, with a tiny bit of foreshadowing, but still unexpected in many different ways. I loved Marnie’s “can-do” attitude, her ability to just go with the flow, her mantra of “forward motion” that carries her through life on the crest of a huge wave, sweeping everyone and everything along with her.

This book covers a lot of different age groups, great aunts, grandparents, parents, siblings, teenagers, and a third grader who is smarter and more sophisticated than her years, but also more vulnerable and fragile than any third grader deserves to be. Fritzie is the perfect complement to the character list. She provides the chaos, sure, but she also gives this book the gravitas that is not found often in what some people call “chick lit.”

Now, for the male main character. And here is where I have to be a bit negative. Well-written, yes. But, I wanted to reach into the cyber code of my Kindle and absolutely shake this guy until he got a grip. If you wanted to find someone in need of weekly (or maybe even biweekly!) sessions with a trained therapist, a therapist who specializes in trauma, depression, survivor’s guilt, and pain, then Patrick Delaney is your man. I can’t count how many times I said to myself in the wee hours of this morning trying to slog my way through the middle section of this book, “Get thee to a therapist!” This book is a prime example of the need for good mental health professionals.

There were times when I thought, is it worth finishing this book? In the end, yes. It was totally worth it. I gave this book five stars, even though I really tired of Patrick’s behavior and mood in the middle. Of course, I’ve not experienced something as traumatic and devastating as Patrick, so who am I to judge. Overall though, the story of Patrick and Marnie and Fritzie and their mixed-up crazy entourage of friends and family and the reoccurring sparkles of magic was a very good read for me.