The Book:
A Song For The Road by Kathleen Basi
Published May 11th 2021 by Alcove Press
Date read: May 12, 2021
The Characters:
Miriam
Dicey
Buy it on Bookshop.org | Amazon
The Plot (from Goodreads):
It’s one year after the death of her husband and twin teenagers, and Miriam Tedesco has lost faith in humanity and herself. When a bouquet of flowers that her husband always sends on their anniversary shows up at her workplace, she completely unravels. With the help of her best friend, she realizes that it’s time to pick up the pieces and begin to move on. Step one is not even cleaning out her family’s possessions, but just taking inventory starting with her daughter’s room. But when she opens her daughter’s computer, she stumbles across a program her daughter has created detailing an automated cross-country road trip, for her and her husband to take as soon-to-be empty nesters.
Seeing and hearing the video clips of her kids embedded in the program, Miriam is determined to take this trip for her children. Armed with her husband’s guitar, her daughter’s cello, and her son’s unfinished piano sonata, she embarks on a musical pilgrimage to grieve the family she fears she never loved enough. Along the way she meets a young, pregnant hitchhiker named Dicey, whose boisterous and spunky attitude reminds Miriam of her own daughter.
Tornadoes, impromptu concerts, and an unlikely friendship…whether she’s prepared for it or not, Miriam’s world is coming back to life. But as she struggles to keep her focus on the reason she set out on this journey, she has to confront the possibility that the best way to honor her family may be to accept the truths she never wanted to face.
The Review:
This book was unlike anything else I’ve read recently, and I loved it. A year after the sudden death of her husband and children, Miriam is consumed with grief. While cleaning out her children’s things, she comes across an app that they designed. It’s a flip-a-coin road trip: Miriam flips heads or tails, and the app tells her where to drive next. She was meant to take the trip with her husband Tio, but decides to do it alone as a way to honor her family.
I loved this concept, and how the author took such a fun idea and incorporated such a serious topic. It can be a hard read at times. It really explores Miriam’s grief in depth, as well as how she felt she had failed as a mother.
Along the way, though, Miriam meets Dicey, who joins her on her road trip and helps draw Miriam out of her grief. Dicey brought such a light to the story, and they both helped each other so much.
I would definitely recommend this beautiful book about love, friendship, overcoming grief, and living life to the fullest.
QOTD: Do you play an instrument? Miriam is a church pianist, and all of her family members were musicians. I played piano growing up and taught lessons in high school!
