Will never forget this book!

I picked the book originally for the narrator, love Xe Sands, but was handed a gift I won’t forget. This book touched something in me that was very personal. Many years ago I lost my husband and faced what now. The author led me on a journey that I didn’t want to end. Highly recommend this book to anyone who has ever had or is having a what now.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

What a fabulous book

I adored this book. It was an excellent exploration of the question of “what next” for each of the characters who were all at a midlife crossroads but who truly faced different futures from their last and from each other. Her writing was captivating and gripping, and I was swept up in the emotional journey. It was both cathartic and healing. I highly recommend it, and the narrator was outstanding.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

8 people found this helpful

A bit laborious, but well worth the read

Sometimes sad and honest are synonymous and Willa’s Grove is both. Upon the sudden death of her husband, Willa Sylvester is faced with the reality that she will have to sell her husband’s dream, the town he named after his beloved wife: Willa, Montana.

Thirty-five people reside in Willa, Montana, and Jack and Willa employed, assisted, housed, or otherwise cared for each one of them. Once Jack passed, Willa’s grief holed her up in their home and away from their friends, the residents of Willa. Months later, after crawling out of her grief enough to come up for air, Willa learns Jack’s secret: They are broke. There is no money.

At the behest of her oldest friend, Bliss, Willa invites three women, a friend of a friend situation, to join her for the final week before the auction that will sell the town of Willa, Montana. The women converge on Willa’s home and learn the intricacies and beauty of wilderness, Montana, and being a middle-aged woman. And each carries their demons of their mid-life with them, hoping to find a resolution.

Bliss: desperately wants a child but has recently been abandoned by her husband. Harriette has fallen from the public’s grace as a motivational personality and is living as a hermit, and Jane has it all, a doting husband, four perfect children, wealth, community, society, and a lover. She will have to figure out what makes her happy: family or freedom.

Willa’s Grove is difficult to read in that it is a story about real life, the actual raw realism that befalls women of a certain age - we have lost ourselves to the “supposed to” of life. This was supposed to have happened, or that was supposed to have worked out, or he was supposed to have been with me to the end, or my children or career were supposed to have fulfilled me.

There were times when I wondered why am I still reading? It would have been easier on me to have DNF’d this one, but then I would have missed out on the community of the book, the “I am not alone” feelings, the “It’s okay to just be and be where I am” understanding that came with finishing the book.

Beautifully written, I feel that Willa’s Grove will fly under the radar because of its difficult storyline, but the storyline is exactly why it needs to be read.

I want to give this book a 4/5 because it made me uncomfortable, and for that reason alone I realize it is a solid 5/5. We need to read (and do) more uncomfortable things.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

Amazing

Such a beautiful message. Gift this book to a few friends who are at their "So now what?".

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

Oh, So Good!

For me, when I see XE Sands is narrating a book, I am almost always ensured the story is rich. ‘Willa’s Grove’ is no exception to my experiences. Despite the 11 hours this story uses to capture its characters’ essences and elaborate on the intricacies of their lives, I completed listening in 2 days. Needless to say, I only walked away to take care of the essential parts of my day to day Life! If you are drawn to the meaningful crafting of words about the realistic challenges adult women navigate, spend time listening to ‘Willa’s Grove’; you will be satisfied.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

3 people found this helpful

Simply amazing a true gift

I would never have picked up this book on my own it was suggested I read it and to be frank, it was an absolutely amazing read, full of heart and soul full of wisdom full of love. Laura is an amazing writer who makes every word on every page stand out, who makes the story come alive. in the end the reader knows how important it is to live one's heart to the fullest thank you Laura Munson. anyone who reads your book will truly live with an heart open.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

1 person found this helpful

Inspiring in this age of lonliness

I absolutely loved the premise of this book. In this time of epidemic loneliness, this book echoes how we all desperately need connection and a way we might find to do it. I always enjoy Xe Sands as a narrator and often look for books where she is the narrator - I find her voice soothing in some way.
I highly recommend this book. It has inspired me and I hope it will inspire you, too, to reach out to others and perhaps widen, or open yourself up to a new circle of friends. Let the ripple of support begin with each of us and spread far and wide.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

Dragged on forever…

Ugh. Dragged and dragged but it hung on to the end because I wanted to find out what happened. The narrator was very good but the story was like a heavy blanket.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

1 person found this helpful

Forever grateful to Laura for this gift

I stumbled onto this book while researching the possibility of a writer’s retreat to attend this year. What a powerful labor of love!! A story that grips the heart on so many levels, yet delivered with such tenderness. Bravo to the author.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

Curl up and shelter in place in Montana

This beautifully written book will have you considering your own “So now what?” at this unprecedented moment in time. Our current pandemic affects the entire planet. And when it lifts, survivors will emerge from sheltering in place to a world disrupted. Substitute pandemic with more personal major life events and see how Laura Munson illustrates these women, raw and yearning having survived their own disrupted lives. Absent spouses from death, divorce, or divergent interests, an upended career, these women transform from anguish to acceptance, from utter despair to hope. They come to trust their hearts as they begin to know, love, and accept themselves with the same honesty they afford each other. Through a shared lens, options and opportunities surface with tentative optimism nurtured by each woman wanting the best for each other.

At a time when we are removed from our communities and yearn for connection, Willa’s Grove demonstrates the need for real friends, supportive friends who speak their truths and create space to hold each heart and soul. You’ll find yourself welcomed into Willa’s farmhouse to enjoy the sustenance of tea or homebrew as you observe bonds being formed—starting with one friend who brings another friend and that one brings another, comprising the diverse foursome of Jane, Bliss, Willa, and Harriet.

It all starts with an invitation — to the rest of your life. The timing is perfect to join this foursome and then create your own.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

6 people found this helpful