Book Review: The Underside of Joy

Have you ever read a book that you easily breeze through in one night?  A book that you enjoy, has so much emotion in it that you just can’t put down and then when you are done, you realize that buried in the book is something that is so relevant to your life?  The Underside of Joy by  Sere Prince Halverson is that book for me.

I picked this book up one night expecting to read a few chapters and head to bed.  Several hours later in the wee hours of the morning, I finished and my mind was blown.  The Underside of Joy is about a woman, Ella, whose husband dies suddenly.  The death of her husband reveals that Ella has essentially lived in a bubble for three years.  She has no clue regarding finances, wills, or insurance policies.  She is left with a small insurance policy, her husband’s struggling business and her two young step-children.

 As Ella and the children are mourning their loss, the children’s birth mother, Paige, who left three years earlier  returns to their lives.  Ella must cope with her loss as she tries to resolve a custody conflict with Paige and working to save the family business.

As the conflicts were resolved and I finished this book, I couldn’t help but examine how prepared my family would be for such a tragedy.  So how about you?  Have you prepared for a tragedy?  Do you know about your family finances, life insurance, and key passwords?

Come over to Blogher and join me and others in discussing these topics and more over the next few weeks..

Disclosure: This is a paid review for BlogHer Book Club but the opinions expressed are my own.

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