When Stories Help Us Move On 💛📖

So this week I discovered The Wedding People by Alison Espach, another new author for me, and one I am so glad I discovered!

I’ll be completely honest, her writing style took a little adjustment for me, as it is written in a very close, reflective narrative voice, and it took me a few pages to fully settle into it. But once I did, I was absolutely in love with the style and the story. It was one of those stories that creeps up on you and keeps you turning the pages.

Quite simply put, it was the lead character, Phoebe, for me. She felt completely real and believable. It was written with such depth and honesty when considering her age, her life experience, her intellect, and how that shaped every decision she made. You can really feel her carrying the weight of the past with her — her memories, regrets, and the quiet grief of everything that has been lived through.

Without any spoilers, this book is about moving on, healing, and ghosts and personal demons. Long after you finish the final page, the people, moments, and versions of ourselves resonate.

What struck me the most was how much it resonated with me as a writer and the themes I explored in both The Towans Series… in particular, the journey of Rafi and Cheryl in Between the Towans, not to mention Ralph and Lois’ losses and ghosts in Beneath the Towans’ Sky.

It is the idea that when life changes, and even when the scenery shifts, you have to evolve as a person within it.

Just as the Cornish coastline shapes my characters, the setting in The Wedding People plays a quiet but important role in Phoebe’s emotional journey, as do the connections she makes along the way. We learn to live with what we have lost, and we can choose how we move forward. It’s a book that made me pause, reflect, and feel — and those are always the ones I treasure most. 💛

Bren xoxo