Chasing Rainbows by Kathleen Long

Amazon Book Description:

Bernadette Murphy likes her life. Really, she does. What's wrong with carrying around an extra ten pounds from fertility treatments? Or having your dog kicked out of obedience school? Again? What's that saying about the devil you know? For Bernie, it's the devil she never expected that changes everything.

Her father's sudden death leaves a gaping void in her life and is one in a series of events that rock her world. Her husband leaves for another woman, and her best friend announces an unplanned pregnancy at the age of forty-one. Bernie's behavior goes from acting out to out-of-hand, and she finds herself in trouble at home, out of work and banned from the mall after a confrontation at the cosmetic counter.

When her mother discovers her father's book of cryptograms, Bernie realizes his encoded lessons in living might be exactly what she needs to survive. From dealing with her family's grief and bonding with her best friend's thirteen-year-old daughter, to dieting, dating and mindless almost-sex with the landscaper, Bernie discovers what her father always knew.

In life, you either choose to sing a rainbow, or you don't.

For Bernie, the singing is about to begin.

My Review:

Bernadette "Bernie" Murphy has just lost her father. She is wrapping herself around him being gone, while simultaneously (and secretively) dealing with her husband who left her. Bernie is no stranger to loss and heartache, but the accumulation of loss and a book of cryptograms her father left her seem to be the wake-up call she has needed for some time and is reluctantly facing reality. 

Chasing Rainbows is a story about finding acceptance and learning how to walk through the downpours of life is the only way to find the rainbows. 

Overall, I enjoyed the book. It seems odd to say I enjoyed the book, when Chasing Rainbows deals with some very serious situations. Bernie is struggling with losing her father, her marriage, she doesn't know what's next, and finally realizing she has yet to really deal with the grief of losing her tiny baby. I connected to Bernie, as I lost my mother and shortly after I went through three miscarriages (not the same, but generally speaking). And when I couldn't relate I had empathy for her. The dark place where Bernie was at is a very real place. Bernie had to walk through all of this empty, dark grief while also realizing how those around her were all dealing with their grief in differently than her. 

For such heavy subject matter, Kathleen Long wrote a book that was enjoyable and uplifting all at the same time. Bernie is really a fun character you won’t be able to help, but root for.  I recommend Chasing Rainbows. Only after we walk through the storms of our lives, can we sit back and see the rainbows.

I know I don't normally post amazon's description, but I thought it really reflected the lighter side of this novel since my review seemed to really discuss the deeper side. I think when you really put the two concepts together you get a much greater view of what a great book this is and what an amazing job Kathleen Long did in weaving the heavy with the light!