Blogmas 2021 : best funny but thoughtful read of 2021 #blogmas2021

The Guncle by Steven Rowley

This is when the saying “don’t judge a book by its cover” is really appropriate!

If you look at that cover, it looks like a beach read, all sunshine and bright colors.

And it is indeed filled with sunshine.

BUT

Beneath that popsicle veneer lies a deep and moving story revolving around grief.

How grief hit everyone in a different way. Some cope with pills or alcohol to numb the pain, even before death happens.

Others wallow in grief for years because they have unresolved issues, because they were not allowed to say goodbye. They were robbed of goodbyes.

And others, like the kids, don’t measure fully what they lost. Or don’t know how to express their feelings.

I loved reading about Patrick, his quirks and struggle. His “Guncle rules” were equally funny and full of wisdom. He truly encouraged the kids to be who they wanted to be. This was certainly an ode at acceptance. Be whomever you want, you are perfect.

Maisie and Grant soldiered on and rallied after their uncle all while steering him where they wanted him to go aka Youtube!

I laughed but I also cried a lot. Because this sent me back to my own grief, the one I experienced more than two and a half years ago. The one I thought I had overcome until it made a come-back with this story.

That book is joyful, colorful, kind, snarky and moving. Much more than a simple beach read.