A Woman's Unimaginable Loss: Angie Desaria's Harsh Reality

In this Kristin Hannah fiction novel, we learn of the extremely touching story of a woman in her late 30s struggling with infertility, grief, and disappointment. Thirty-eight-year-old Angie Desaria is not living the picture-perfect life everyone assumes she does. Life has dealt her a series of misfortunes: from suffering several miscarriages, to the loss of her child and the death of her father. The couple’s marriage succumbs under the weight of their misery and unrealized dream of having a child. After her divorce, she quits her job in a successful adverting career in Seattle and moves back to her hometown in West End to manage her family’s Italian restaurant (Kirkus Reviews, 2010).

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Soon, Angie hires and befriends Lauren Ribido, a young teen coming to terms with the harsh realities of life. Lauren lives with her alcoholic mother in the shoddy part of town, despite her situation, she resolves to work hard for a college scholarship. However, things take a turn for the worst when her mother finds out she is pregnant. It seems the odds are against her when her boyfriend, David, asks her to get an abortion. Abandoned, Lauren has to decide both hers and her baby’s fate. Angie comes to her aid when she learns of her situation and offers her a place to stay.

In The Things We Do for Love, we get a lovely interpretation of the theme of mother-daughter relationships and the mother-child bond ( Penguin Random House ). Angie desperately wants a child while Lauren finds herself unexpectedly pregnant with a child she did not want. Lauren also enjoys the motherly love and affection Angie shows her, something she never got from her alcoholic mother. Another theme discussed in the book is teenage pregnancy. Pregnant at seventeen, Lauren faces the dilemma of having to choose between being a carefree teenager again or braving up for the challenges ahead. The suspense builds up and the question of whether Lauren gives up her baby to Angie. Will she be able to get her college scholarship, keep, and provide for her child? Will Angie finally become a mother through Lauren?

The novel is simplistic and it is quite easy to foretell the direction the author will take with the characters. Although the book was predictable especially on Angie's struggle on motherhood, it has an unexpected ending, much different than I had anticipated. I feel like the author weighed too much on the theme of loss in this book. It made reading the book an overwhelming emotional rollercoaster.

I would recommend this novel to teenagers and young adult women and feel like it would resonate well with them. The book's depiction of real-life issues involving grief, adoption, divorce, and teenage pregnancies makes it the perfect read for anyone seeking a better understanding of the same. Through Lauren's story, teenage girls can learn to comprehend the emotional issues that sometimes change the course of one's life. Older female readers can probably relate to Angie's story since women face fertility and marital issues throughout their lives. Kristin's wonderful narration of Angie's emotional and physical journey into motherhood has readers reflecting on what makes a mother.

Works Cited

Kirkus Reviews. “The Things We Do for Love.” Www.Kirkusreviews.Com, 20 May 2010, www.kirkusreviews.com/book-reviews/kristin-hannah/the-things-we-do-for-love/.

PenguinRandomHouse. “The Things We Do for Love by Kristin Hannah: 9780345520807 | PenguinRandomHouse.Com: Books.” PenguinRandomhouse.Com, www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/74815/the-things-we-do-for-love-by-kristin-hannah/.