This close to okay : a novel / Leesa Cross-Smith.

By:

Cross-Smith, Leesa, 1978-

Material type: Text

text

Media type:

unmediated

Carrier type:

volume

ISBN:

9781538715369
1538715368

Other title:

This close to OK

Subject(s): Genre/Form:

DDC classification:

813/.6 23/eng/20230322

Summary: A powerful, vibrant novel about the life-changing weekend shared between two strangers, from the award-winning writer Roxane Gay calls "a consummate storyteller." On a rainy October night in Kentucky, recently divorced therapist Tallie Clark is on her way home when she spots a man precariously standing on the edge of a bridge. Without a second thought, Tallie pulls over and jumps out of the car into the pouring rain. She convinces the man to join her for a cup of coffee, and he eventually agrees to come back to her house, where he finally, reluctantly, shares his first name: Emmett. Over the course of the emotionally-charged weekend that follows, Tallie makes it her mission to provide a safe and comfortable space for Emmett, although she doesn't confess that she works as a therapist. However, Emmett is not the only one who needs help--and he has secrets of his own. Alternating between Tallie and Emmett's perspectives as they inch closer to the truth of what brought Emmett to the bridge, This Close to Okay is an uplifting, powerful story of two strangers brought together by wild chance at the moment they need it the most.

Average rating: 0.0 (0 votes)

Holdings
Item type	Current library	Collection	Shelving location	Call number	Status	Notes	Date due	Barcode	Item holds
Adult Book	Phillipsburg Free Public Library	Adult Fiction	New Books	FIC CROSS-SMITH	Available	pap ed.		36748002540203

Total holds: 0

Enhanced descriptions from Syndetics:

A powerful, vibrant novel about the life-changing weekend shared between two strangers, from the award-winning writer Roxane Gay calls "a consummate storyteller."

On a rainy October night in Kentucky, recently divorced therapist Tallie Clark is on her way home from work when she spots a man precariously standing at the edge of a bridge. Without a second thought, Tallie pulls over and jumps out of the car into the pouring rain. She convinces the man to join her for a cup of coffee, and he eventually agrees to come back to her house, where he finally shares his name: Emmett.

Over the course of the emotionally charged weekend that follows, Tallie makes it her mission to provide a safe space for Emmett, though she hesitates to confess that this is also her day job. What she doesn't realize is that Emmett isn't the only one who needs healing--and they both are harboring secrets.

Alternating between Tallie and Emmett's perspectives as they inch closer to the truth of what brought Emmett to the bridge's edge--as well as the hard truths Tallie has been grappling with since her marriage ended-- This Close to Okay is an uplifting, cathartic story about chance encounters, hope found in unlikely moments, and the subtle magic of human connection.

Longlisted for the 2022 Mark Twain American Voice in Literature Award

Longlisted for the Goodreads Choice Awards

Book of the Month December Pick

Good Housekeeping Book Club February Pick

Marie Claire Book Club March Pick

Most Anticipated by Elle , Today (according to Goodreads), The Millions , She Reads , and Real Simple

Recommended by Refinery29, Shondaland, Oprah Daily, Washington Post , Glamour , Cosmopolitan , Electric Literature , Bookriot , Parade , Harper's Bazaar , and more

Includes reading group guide and a conversation with Leesa Cross-Smith (pages [313]-323).

Reviews provided by Syndetics

Publishers Weekly Review

Cross-Smith (So We Can Glow) explores fragility, grief, and the effects of mental illness in this wonderfully strange novel about new love between broken people. Tallie Clark is a divorced, childless therapist who sees a man about to jump from a bridge on her way home one night. She pulls over and talks him into joining her for a cup of coffee, then invites the man, who goes only by Emmett, to stay at her house. In the days that follow, Tallie and Emmett learn about each other's divorces and the deaths, infidelities, and heartaches that have shaped their lives. All the while, Cross-Smith builds suspense by gradually alluding to each character's ulterior motives as Tallie neglects to tell Emmett she's a therapist, and Emmett emails Tallie's ex-husband to get her the answers he thinks she needs. Alternating between Tallie and Emmett's perspectives, the narrative cannily inhabits a space where Tallie calls danger a "frothing aphrodisiac," and the two characters at times learn, or fail, to cope with sorrow and depression. As dark and tense as it is flirty and humorous, this moving novel offers consistent surprises. Agent: Kerry D'Agostino, Curtis Brown. (Feb.)

Booklist Review

In her second novel, Cross-Smith (Whiskey & Ribbons, 2018) once again shows adeptness at exploring the range of human emotions, particularly the fragility of relationships in the wake of tragedy. Having a difficult time moving on after her recent divorce, Tallie makes a rash decision when she spots a man looking like he is about to jump from a bridge. She convinces Emmett to come with her instead, eventually spending the weekend. Tallie doesn't tell him she's a therapist, for fear that he will think she sees him as a project, but Emmett is hiding even bigger secrets that are hinted at during chapters from his POV. Tallie is suspicious of Emmett but also drawn to him; they seem to be just what each other needs at that moment. The weekend turns into a fairly rote new-love story, even with the added suspense that Emmett is hiding something terrible and possibly terrifying. But Cross-Smith is no fan of fairytales, offering twists that keep the novel interesting and realistic. A page-turning pleaser with a heroine to love.