Six Goodbyes We Never Said is a gorgeously written introspective book. At the same time it’s a story of mental health, grief, love, and friendship. Told from dual perspectives, and with voice mail transcripts, Six Goodbyes We Never Said is an emotional book about letting go and moving forward.
Summary
Two teens meet after tragedy and learn about love, loss, and letting go
Naima Rodriguez doesn’t want your patronizing sympathy as she grieves her father, her hero—a fallen Marine. She’ll hate you forever if you ask her to open up and remember him “as he was,” though that’s all her loving family wants her to do in order to manage her complex OCD and GAD. She’d rather everyone back the-eff off while she separates her Lucky Charms marshmallows into six, always six, Ziploc bags, while she avoids friends and people and living the life her father so desperately wanted for her.
Dew respectfully requests a little more time to process the sudden loss of his parents. It’s causing an avalanche of secret anxieties, so he counts on his trusty voice recorder to convey the things he can’t otherwise say aloud. He could really use a friend to navigate a life swimming with pain and loss and all the lovely moments in between. And then he meets Naima and everything’s changed—just not in the way he, or she, expects.
Candace Ganger’s Six Goodbyes We Never Saidis no love story. If you ask Naima, it’s not even a like story. But it is a story about love and fear and how sometimes you need a little help to be brave enough to say goodbye.
Review
(Disclaimer: I received this book from Netgalley. This has not impacted my review which is unbiased and honest.)
TW: social anxiety, depression, OCD, generalized anxiety disorder, PTSD, panic attacks, suicidal thoughts
Six Goodbyes We Never Said is a book that will move you on multiple levels. It’s a book about grief and processing our guilt. At the same time, it’s also a book about mental health, the foster system, siblings, and friendship. Six Goodbyes We Never Said has truly gorgeous writing for such a moving story. Whether it be the way these characters keep interacting or their genuine interactions, there’s something that will grip you about Six Goodbyes We Never Said.
It’s one of those quiet books. The real power of the story playing out in the character’s thoughts, their journey. How these characters hold the key to our memories and to pieces of our future. The grief is tangible and you can feel it rise in your throat. Six Goodbyes We Never Said is heart wrenching, but in the best way. While our grief is valid, the way it springs up months later, in the midst of a laugh, but also about the necessity of taking steps forward.
How it’s wrapped up with anger, guilt, and regret. The ways we say goodbye to those we love – and how we never quite close that chapter. Six Goodbyes We Never Said is a story about friendship which heals, letting people in and moving on. There are family scenes and quiet stakes, but it’s an honest portrayal of the messiness of grief, the process of sorting through our feelings, and figuring out if we can make it through. And who we might meet on the way.
Find Six Goodbyes We Never Said on Goodreads, Amazon, Indiebound, Other Buying Links, & The Book Depository.
About the Author
Candace Ganger is the author of Six Goodbyes We Never Said and The Inevitable Collision of Birdie & Bash as well as a contributing writer for HelloGiggles and obsessive marathoner. Aside from having past lives as a singer, nanotechnology website editor, and world’s worst vacuum sales rep, she’s also ghostwritten hundreds of projects for companies, best-selling fiction and award-winning nonfiction authors alike. She lives in Ohio with her family.
Twitter: @candylandgang + @WednesdayBooks