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Listen to Sarah Enright as she recommends This Close to Okay by Leesa Cross-Smith. This is Sarah Enright, with the Sioux City Public Library, and you’re listening to Check It Out.
Today, I am recommending, This Close to Okay by Leesa Cross-Smith, the moving story of two strangers brought together on the same bridge one rainy, October night in Kentucky. Tallie Clark a 40-year-old recently divorced therapist, instinctively stops her car when she spots the man she comes to know as Emmet, on the wrong side of the bridge railing. Looking as though he may jump, Tallie decides she must do whatever she can to get and keep him away from the edge. After a brief exchange, he reluctantly takes her hand and agrees to have coffee with her. As Tallie methodically chooses to hide parts of herself from Emmet for fear that she’ll scare him away, she simultaneously tries to pry as much information as she can from this quiet, mysterious man. ....
After the year that we ve all had, Leesa Cross-Smith s This Close to Okay delivers an important reminder that it s alright to struggle. And, more importantly, as one #ReadWithMC reviewer noted, the book promises you’re never too far away from the warmth of the sun, or a One Direction jam sesh, or a hug from someone you love. $24.84 The novel centers on two strangers Tallie and Emmett who spend an emotional weekend together after Tallie, a licensed therapist, finds Emmett attempting to take his life on a bridge. As they both come to terms with their pasts, Cross-Smith illustrates two complex characters who share their vulnerabilities, dreams, grief, and, ultimately, compassion with each other that left a lot of readers feeling seen as they navigate their own mental health throughout the COVID-19 pandemic. ....
Trigger warning: This passage contains descriptions of a suicide attempt. Tallie saw him drop his backpack and climb over the metal railing, the bridge. The gray Ohio River below them, a swift-rippling ribbon. She was driving slowly because of the rain, the crepuscular light. She didn’t give herself time to think. Pulled over, lowered the passenger-side window, and said hey. Hey! The heys increased in frequency, volume. To her left, the blur of traffic. She punched her hazards, climbed over the armrest and out of her car, leaving the passenger door peeled open. “Hey! I see you! You don’t know me, but I care about you! Don’t jump!” she said, loud enough for him to hear, but she didn’t want to startle him, either. The cars and trucks were loud, the rain was loud, the sky was loud, the bridge was loud all those sounds echoing off it, rattling down and back up. The world was so loud. ....
Updated: 11:22 AM MST Jan 6, 2021 Lizz Schumer With many of us spending more time inside than we ever have before, Many of us are spending more time indoors than ever before, and that means more time to dive into our reading lists. So what should you read next? This year, we re looking forward to some exciting new releases from some of our favorite authors, as well as stunning debut books from a diverse group of newcomers in just about every genre we can think of. This year, many of our top book picks (so far!) offer us critiques on our society today, imaginative ways our world might be structured instead, a peek into complicated family dynamics, steamy love stories that send shivers up our spines, historical novels that dip back into the past, and creepy tales of suspense that kept us up way past our bedtimes. ....