A LIFE WITHOUT WATER by Marci Bolden

There are two main characters in this book and then two that you meet throughout the story. Carol/Caroline, John, Katie and Tobias. Carol was married to John and they had Katie. She left John and met and married Tobias. The story is mainly about Caroline, John and how the loss they shared. John needs to make amends before he dies. They need to find a way to find closure and peace between them. They started out together as a young couple in love. They need to find a way back to that. Not as a couple but as friends. Caroline was the name John always called her and will forever. Caroline needs to find a way to forgive John and herself for things that happened between them. Things that happened that they could not seem to control.

This book has lots of heartaches in it. It’s actually one that will make you cry from almost the first page to the very end. I don’t mean just crying, I truly mean weeping, ugly, heartbreaking tears. The ugly crying you don’t want anyone seeing you do. I cried so much reading this book that if I had not invested time in it I would not have finished it. I kept having to put it down to get up and move around so I could actually see the words. It’s truly a very sad book. A very well written, very interesting, very good book but it will break your heart into tiny pieces if you have feelings at all.

I liked the story but hated the sadness. I loved the interaction between Caroline and John but hated what happened to them. I liked that she moved on but hated the why of it. I felt so sorry for John yet thought of him as a jerk so many times and blamed him so much until I finally realized that it was not him being so mean and cruel. He had a problem. He needed help. I liked Caroline a lot but also felt she was a bit selfish in places until I saw exactly why she did some of the things she did. Both were human. Humans are capable of failure without being bad people. Both experienced the ultimate pain. The deepest pain a person ever feels. Though Caroline went through it way more than John did. She lost so much and was there for him anyway. Until the end. She sacrificed for him in ways that some would never even think of doing. I’m not sure I would or could ever do what she did. I think she was a very very strong woman who lost so much and loved so deeply.

While this is not a love story it is about love. The love between a man and woman. A woman and a man. Parents and a child. It’s a story of a love so great you never get over it. It stays with you until you take your very last breath. It is a very heartfelt story for sure.

I do not believe the author could have possibly written this without shedding many many tears her own self. It’s a very well written book and makes you feel like you are right there with the characters. I went on a road trip. I saw places that I would never see if I had not of gone. I felt things I have never felt while reading. Deeply and heartbreakingly.

While I truly think this is one of the best books I have read in a long time, I also think or know, it’s one of the saddest that I have ever read. I only recommend this book if you need or want to weep. If you want or need to shed tears this is definitely the book for you. I will say it’s a great story and it’s worth every single tear. I actually loved the story. It was well written, well developed characters and a well developed story. You will either love it or hate it. Maybe like it. But you will without a doubt shed lots of tears while reading it. Every tear I shed,  I have to say was worth the ending and what Carol/Caroline went through to the very end.

Thank you to #NetGalley, #PinkSandPress for the ARC of this in exchange for my honest review.

I have to give it 5 stars and I only recommend it if you have lots and lots of tissue and are up for a deep ugly heartfelt cry. It’s good but so sad. Well done Marci Bolden. I look forward to checking out more of your books. I just hope they don’t make me cry quite so much.