Fragments of Life

Pacific Book Review Star
Awarded to Books of Excellent Merit

“Fragments of Life” by Anita R. Gibbons is an honest life story that has struggles, sadness, heartache, along with some happiness and charm. As someone who doesn’t enjoy sad endings, I appreciated being told upfront that there will be sadness. The prologue introduces Maggie as she is returning to this hotel she vacationed at with Carla, as this leads into her thinking back to the time they had together. Gibbons uses deliberate word choices to foreshadow the sadness to come by exposing how Maggie feels presently: describing the hotel room as “larger and less inviting than ever before,” and how eating by herself “is an unpleasant experience at the best of times and [she] was quickly made conscious of the shroud of loneliness which enveloped [her].”

The novel is written from the perspective of Maggie going over her past, but it’s not setup with her interjecting present thoughts. The events are followed in real time, with each moment reading as if it just happened. “Fragments of Life” has several aspects that are easy to relate to, whether it’s Maggie and Carla’s individual journeys, or their journey together, there’s something for everyone to connect with. Early in the novel, Carla shares that she has cancer and doesn’t have much longer to live, which calls out where this story will end up. This aspect stood out to me, because I’ve had a grandpa, and a great-aunt die of cancer, and a girl in my high school had cancer, so it felt personal. That is where part of the charm is. It’s real life. Everyone can relate to either the shock and sadness that Carla felt finding out, or the personal struggle with cancer that Carla goes through. Both women make discoveries about themselves through each other as they fall in love, and deal with exes, a teenage daughter, and a cancer diagnosis.

Their story progresses from Carla being an employee to a friend to Maggie’s love of her life. It’s a story about love and family, exploring those themes to the fullest. Maggie and Carla face several individual struggles, but once they start being honest about their feelings, as well as being honest with each other, they become stronger. Despite bracing for a heartbreak, it didn’t downplay the punch at the end, which shows the strength of the writing. To me, a story is at its strongest when I care about what happens to the characters, and following the journey of their relationship. I found myself wanting a happy ending despite knowing there wasn’t going to be one. Carla and Maggie are honest and realistic characters, flawed yet endearing. “Fragments of Life” is a must read story of love, friendship, family, and loss, a story of what it means to be human, and to follow your heart.