If you read this column even somewhat regularly, you know that I am all about a romantic comedy. I love to laugh and root for a couple as they fall for each other, a little bit of spice doesn’t hurt, and of course, I am a sucker for that good old HEA (happily ever after) we are guaranteed in such books. My very favorite thing in any book is when, along the way, our heroine falls in love with herself above all else. This week's book is a little bit different, and rather than a couple finding love with each other, it is more of a journey to self-love when life is falling apart. “Really Good, Actually” by Monica Heisey is witty and smart and real, and watching our lead, Maggie, come into her own is a little bit of a breath of fresh air.
Maggie’s life is a mess. She is broke, her graduate thesis on some obscure topic is at a standstill, and her marriage recently ended after only 608 days. She is 29, but she is determined to embrace her new life as a “Surprisingly Young Divorcee” – after all, now she has time to take up (and abandon) nine different hobbies, Door Dash and eat hamburgers at 4 am, and “get back out there” in the dating department. With the help of her academic advisor, Merris; her also newly divorced bestie, Amy; and her hilarious group chat, Maggie navigates her first year of being single. Maggie is forced to face the music and ask herself all of the tough questions, and while she doesn’t always find the answers she wants to hear, she always manages to find the answers she needs and finds love for herself in the process.
I thought that “Really Good, Actually” was a hilarious and bittersweet self-love journey that explores the concept of what we call “happiness” and what it means to search for and find it. Sometimes, life doesn’t give us what we want - sometimes, we get what we need instead, and, like Maggie, it is up to us to figure out how to deal with that. I loved Heisey’s writing style, which at times feels a little bit like a stream-of-consciousness from Maggie, but really helps readers to understand her frame of mind and to see her growth as the story progresses.
That is all I have for you this week – I hope you go grab “Really Good, Actually” and when you’re done reading it, you pop over and follow me on Instagram @allison.the.reader where I am reading and rambling on the daily. I can’t wait to hear your thoughts on this book and hear what you think I should read next.
Allison Diegel is the Executive Chaos Coordinator at the Diegel Home for Wayward Girls. She has been reading since before she could talk, and now she likes doing lots of both.
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