Review: The Hard Truth About Sunshine by Sawyer Bennett

My rating: 5 of 5 stars
Standalone
Release - March 28, 2017
Genre - Contemporary Romance
Hero POV - 1st person
Heat - 1.5 out of 5
Length - 350 pages

Despite having narrowly escaped death's clutches, Christopher Barlow is grateful for nothing. His capacity to love has been crushed. He hates everyone and everything, completely unable to see past the gray stain of misery that coats his perception of the world. It's only after he involuntarily joins a band of depressed misfits who are struggling to overcome their own problems, does Christopher start to re-evaluate his lot in life.

What could they possibly learn from one another? How could they possibly help each other to heal? And the question that Christopher asks himself over and over again... can he learn to love again?

He's about to find out as he embarks upon a cross country trip with a beautiful woman who is going blind, a boy with terminal cancer, and an abuse victim who can't decide whether she wants to live or die.

Four people with nothing in common but their destination. They will encounter adventure, thrills, loss and love. And within their travels they will learn the greatest lesson of all.

The hard truth about sunshine...

Warning: This book deals with some tough issues including suicide and sexual abuse.

Find it here:
Goodreads | Amazon

MY REVIEW

I thought I knew what to expect when I started reading THE HARD TRUTH ABOUT SUNSHINE, but I quickly realized that I hadn't had a clue. This story had me questioning my own faith and outlook on life. Through Christopher's POV, I was guided through pain, loss, grief, betrayal, abandonment, abuse, PTSD, depression, devastation and hopelessness. I was also steered towards acceptance, optimism, friendship, freedom, hope and love.

Sawyer Bennett captured the lives of her characters (Christopher, Jillian, Barb and Connor) with reverence and beauty. I felt a connection to each and every one of them and felt a jolt of mirrored pain at each revelation. I believe the author sufficiently captured each of my emotions, whether it was my tears of joy or sobs of sorrow, and she gave an astute depiction of what each character was going through and how it effected them and those around them.

As much as this book was about a trip these four eventual friends took, I found it to be more about Christopher's journey from the darkest depths of what he viewed as his own personal hell to him learning to live on the upside of down. It was a lesson on appreciating the blessings we are given, seeking the truth from ourselves and those who surround us, and never giving up the fight. At least that's what I took from it. I especially appreciated the story the author added in the acknowledgments, of what truly sparked her to write this book. Although this was a marked departure from what we've come to expect from this author, I love how deeply this story spoke to her and how it compelled her to tell it because it definitely spoke to me.