This was a summer release from last year that I found at a used bookstore and grabbed on a whim. I'm not always into this type of read, but every once in a while a good uplifting book is necessary. And as a last hurrah as summer turns to autumn, the time was right. 

 

When Patrick's best friend, Sarah, dies after a battle with cancer and Sarah's husband (Patrick's brother) confesses that he struggles with addiction and wants to check into rehab, Patrick is saddled with his niece and nephew, Maisie and Grant, for the summer. As the two kids get settled in with Gay Uncle Patrick (or GUP), they work together to overcome grief both new (the loss of their mother) and old (Patrick's great love). And against his expectations, Patrick finds himself warming to the uniquities of the kids, as they, in turn, learn from his eccentricities. 

 

Oh my heart. Oh the humanity. This book is like, exactly what a movie billed as “the feel good film of the year” would make you feel. It walks that perfect line of heart-warming family and healing vibes (the kind that make you cry happy tears), with the humor and sarcasm that are pure entertainment. I listened to the audiobook, which the author reads himself, and the tone was just right. I could not stop listening. Patrick's interactions with the kids, as the childless, single, well-off and kinda famous but a bit recluse-y, with some of those well-worm but loved gay stereotypes (unconventional clothing, drinks by the poolside, a love of old movies and theater, etc.) are so funny. His comfort in who he is, leaning into his outside the "norm" existence, allows for so much self-acceptance for his niece and nephew, especially Maisie, as she is beginning her journey through puberty/adolescence, that it was almost too wholesome to bear. But it's balanced nicely with Patrick's sarcasm and snark, his willingness to speak with them like they're mini adults, gives a level of validation to them that is deeply necessary as they heal. And the way that their presence re-opens Patrick's own heart, allowing him to find a way to accept his own losses, the ones he has been hiding away from the world and wallowing in for years, is beautiful. 

 

There are some other aspects of the novel, like how well Patrick's adult relationships with his siblings is written, the budding romantic relationship that he finds after finally coming back out in society (as it were), and his first efforts in years to rekindle his acting career, now that there are reasons in his life again, that were also lovely. They added depth to the development of Patrick's character and the overall story that were necessary, that were a major part of what made it as great as it was. But they were also not as central as Grant and Maisie and Patrick as GUP, and so I will mention them briefly, but bring it back around at the end. 

 

Honestly, this is one of those books that the journey of reading is, in itself, the prize. I don't need a long review to list it all, or many words of reflection on the plot or anything, because they will all just continue to highlight the heartbreakingly human way that grief and emotional processing happen, and how we cannot do it alone. I chuckled (so many times) and shed a few tears, and overall, I really recommend this "feel good" read the next time you're in the mood for one. 

 

“Grief orbits the heart. Some days the circle is greater. Those are the good days. You have room to move and dance and breathe. Some days the circle is tighter. Those are the hard ones.” 

 

“He had lived a life, and survived it.”