Book Review- Every Precious and Fragile Thing by Barbara Davis

Yet another read from the author after  The Echo of Old Books… and this book was just as mesmerizing, with multiple timelines and multiple stories running in parallel. 

This read was a powerful reminder that life moves on, and it is up to us whether we choose to live in the world of regret and lost opportunities or embrace the present to build a better future. With its richly drawn exploration of love, loss, and the promise of second chances, Every Precious and Fragile Thing is one of those books that stays with you.

Grief, love, family, secrets, and betrayals — this book has a little of everything. 

For social worker Mallory Ward, working with at-risk youth is a calling. But when one of her clients is tragically killed, she finds herself at a crossroads. Despite long-held resentments toward her distant mother, she turns to Helen, her mother, who is a death doula and is in the midst of her own soul-searching, both alone and together. They are each grieving someone or something in their own way. And yet the thing that once tore them apart is the thing that will bring them back together.

The story is both poignant and heartwarming - highly recommend.

It left me thinking: are we defined by our past? Can we learn from it, or does it have to shape our future?

Quotes from the book-

“You set yourself up for a hard fall, and when it comes, you find yourself questioning everything. If you’re lucky, you learn from it and grow thicker skin. Not so thick that you don’t feel anything, but enough to allow you to do the work effectively and objectively. If not . . .”

“Everything has to do with everything,”

“We never stop to consider that a death sentence comes as part of the package, pronounced on us the day we’re born. The number of years may differ, but the end is never in doubt. Still, we rail when it comes—unless we learn to see it differently.”

“We realize at long last that life in this world is finite, and with our wicks beginning to burn low, we cast about for other sources of light. For memory and meaning. For love stripped of need or wound. Pure, perfected, peaceful. This is transition.”

“That’s the thing about seeing people stripped of their pride—it humanizes them in ways we’re often not prepared for. We suddenly see our sameness, our connection, our ties. And once seen, they can never be unseen.”