Come Away with Me - Karma Brown

Come Away with Me by Karma Brown
Publisher: Harlequin MIRA
Publication Date: August 25, 2015
Source/Format: BEA 2015 || ARC
[I received this book from the publisher. This in no way affects my review.]

One minute, Tegan Lawson has everything she could hope for: an adoring husband, Gabe, and a baby on the way. The next, a patch of black ice causes a devastating accident that will change her life in ways she never could have imagined.

Tegan is consumed by grief, not to mention her anger toward Gabe, who was driving on the night of the crash. But just when she thinks she's hit rock bottom, Gabe reminds her of their Jar of Spontaneity, a collection of their dream destinations and experiences, and so begins an adventure of a lifetime.

From the bustling markets of Thailand to the flavors of Italy to the ocean waves in Hawaii, Tegan and Gabe embark on a journey to escape the tragedy and search for forgiveness. But they soon learn that grief follows you no matter how far away you run, and that acceptance comes when you least expect it. 

It is a very rare occurrence to have a novel you choose to read based solely on its summary turn out to be one of the best novels you’ve read in a long, long while. Come Away with Me is one such novel, a debut that impressed me with its honest, emotional portrayal of one woman’s struggle with grief. It balances perfectly introspection and reaction, unafraid to show readers the true face of Tegan Lawson’s heartbreaking story; it succeeds in eliciting a strong emotional response from readers by inviting us in to share Tegan’s journey. 

Tegan Lawson comes to life off the page, mostly because she experiences such intense bouts of emotion, whether sadness or joy. It was so easy to quietly slip into her brain and come along for the ride, allowing her narration to be our guide into who she is, what she’s gone through and what she needs to do. It’s not easy to read about someone suffering from such terrible heartbreak; it also isn’t easy to see how she pushes away the people in her life – Gabe, her best friend Anna, her family. And yet, all these things are true habits of someone suffering depression, and Tegan certainly is. 

Brown does an excellent job chronicling Tegan Lawson’s journey, both the physical and the emotional. Physically, readers visit Thailand, Italy and Hawaii with Tegan, and let me tell you, Brown really knows how to describe these places with such vivid, vibrant details. I was there with Tegan when she tried Thai iced coffee, climbed endless stairs off the coast in Italy and learned to surf in Hawaii, among other things. Each place came alive beautifully, and that’s testament to Brown’s knack for description. Emotionally, Brown doesn’t hold back, allowing readers to experience the good, the bad and the ugly. We’re witness to all the parts of Tegan as she tries to navigate her way from grief to acceptance, a journey filled with moments that will break your heart, make you angry and coax out a smile or two. It’s written so well that you just get swept up in it all, and what a glorious, moving experience it is. 

While I’m bursting to gush more about Come Away with Me, I believe it is best summed up just like this: you need to read this story. Brown’s incredible debut will transport you away from the everyday into fantastic new locales, even as it makes your heart break and patches it up till it is whole again. I was thoroughly impressed by this debut novel from Karma Brown, and definitely look forward to seeing what she will be writing about next.