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Those We Love Most

by Lee Woodruff (Goodreads Author)

3.53 of 5 stars 3.53 · rating details · 1,097 ratings · 247 reviews

In her fiction debut, beloved writer and speaker Lee Woodruff offers an intimate and moving novel that explores the ways in which four lives are broken and made whole again after a shattering tragedy.

On a warm June day, Maura Corrigan is walking with her nine-year-old son, James, as he rides his bike to school. The unthinkable happens: he darts onto the street and is hit b...more

Hardcover, 320 pages

Published September 11th 2012 by Hyperion (first published September 5th 2012)

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Oct 12, 2012 Kathryn marked it as to-read

Shelves: first-reads

I really like Lee Woodruff's books and am so thrilled to be getting this!

3 likes · like · see review

Dec 17, 2012 Bonnie marked it as dnf

Shelves: arcs-read

Those We Love Most was kindly provided to me by Netgalley for Hyperion.
Expected publication: September 11th 2012 by Hyperion

Interested in more of my reviews? Visit my blog!

I was able to see very early on in this story that this was not the book for me, thus no rating.

Those We Love Most tells the tale of Maura Corrigan who was walking her son to school one day, wasn't paying attention for an apparently selfish reason, when her son James is hit by a car and dies a few days later. Told from the poi...more Those We Love Most was kindly provided to me by Netgalley for Hyperion.
Expected publication: September 11th 2012 by Hyperion

Interested in more of my reviews? Visit my blog!

I was able to see very early on in this story that this was not the book for me, thus no rating.

Those We Love Most tells the tale of Maura Corrigan who was walking her son to school one day, wasn't paying attention for an apparently selfish reason, when her son James is hit by a car and dies a few days later. Told from the point of view of several different family members including Maura's mother Margaret and her father Roger. Roger is also dealing with grief of his ongoing affair... ongoing for five years. The death of James results in stirring up all the problems that have been kept buried within the family.

So, my issues and reason for not finishing.
This isn't being classified as Christian Fiction but had some huge religious undertones which was a big turn off for me. The comments from Roger regarding Maura's husband really rubbed me the wrong way.
'On paper, he was great son-in-law material:...Pete had an even temperament and no funny earrings or designer facial hair.'
Okay, pause. Seriously? Just because you have earrings or crazy facial hair does not make you any less of a good person. Continuing on.
'Moreover, he was a practicing Catholic, something that had appealed to Roger after the string of Jewish and Protestant boys Maura had dated in high school and college.'
Ugh. I hate this simple-minded way of regarding people in terms of their religious beliefs and defining them based solely on that. Having ANY other religious beliefs than your own is not a terrible thing. Also, just because you're Catholic does not automatically make you a better person. Look at you Mr. Roger, Catholic and yet having a five-year long affair on your wife of FOUR DECADES.

So bottom line, I couldn't get past page 50 based on the huge religious undertones and the cheating - something I could have done without. Two things that I really have no desire to read about.

Before anyone decides to comment on the fact that I didn't give this book a chance, these are just my opinions based on the 50 pages that I felt needed to be stated and that is why I have opted to not rate this book. I knew early on that this was not the book for me and figured it would be best to chuck it rather than force myself to read it in its entirety and then give it a horrible rating.(less)

3 likes · like · see review

Sep 17, 2012 Pam rated it 4 of 5 stars

To be sure, I thought Those We Love Most was going to be a vanity project by yet ANOTHER famous person. But it wasn't. Lee is a writer by trade and in some ways, her stories remind me of Jennifer Weiner's stories: tales of normal people and how they respond to life. The characters are flawed, but not desperately so, but they are relatable. You might know Maura or Margaret or have seen them in the grocery store.

Woodruff knows about loss, having dealt with the issue with her husband's TBI. And in...more

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Jul 17, 2012 Laura rated it 1 of 5 stars

Shelves: 2012-mt-bookpile

About a quarter of the way though, I realized this was going to be a DNF. Why? This book felt a little as though the author was trying to work something out for herself, and there was a little bit of "kitchen sinking" (where the problems the four main characters are having are neither surprising nor terribly interesting, but put there because someone has to be having this sort of problem to make the plot go forward).

The loss of a child does cause major disruption in a family and in the interfam...more

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May 20, 2013 Radhika rated it 3 of 5 stars

The story of lives changed forever in a fraction of a second. A family is torn apart with grief. Relationship changes but normalcy is needed to keep the day to day life going on.

Maura and Pete lose their firstborn eight year old son in a split second accident. From that moment life changes for the whole family. Grief and guilt war within Maura who thinks that she could have avoided what happened to her child,Pete not being able to bear the grief of the loss. But life has to continue and sanity a...more

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Mar 20, 2013 Arlena rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: 4-stars, a-good-book, alcohoic, alcoholic, ebooks, infidelity, my-reviews, drama, fiction, chit-lit, death, women-fiction

Author: Lee Woodruff
Published by: Hyperion
Age Recommended: Adult
Reviewed By: Arlena Dean
Book Blog For: GMTA
Rating: 4

Review:

"Those We Love Most" by Lee Woodruff was really a powerful read. This was a read of tragedy not just for one family but a extended family. This was a very realistic read that could happen to any of us...a death of a child. Yes, this novel will be of 'loss, grief, love and two families who are really suffering from it all. We find the mother had been having a affair, while th...more

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Feb 06, 2013 Marcie rated it 3 of 5 stars

I chose this book based on a quick read of the back cover - a story of an ordinary suburban housewife whose family experiences a tragedy that will forever change them. When I realized it was about the death of her child, I expected to find myself in tears. Instead, I found myself bored. Bored, and irritated at the coldness and selfishness of almost all the main characters. The mother had been having an affair, the father was an alcoholic, the grandfather was also having an affair, and the grandm...more

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Dec 31, 2012 Kathleen Hagen added it

Shelves: 2012-audio-books

Those We Love Most, by Lee Woodruff, Narrated by Karen White, Produced by Hyperion Publishing, downloaded from audible.com.

Maura Corrigan is married, raising three children, lives near her parents, and seems quite happy. But she is troubled by her husband’s heavy drinking and has met someone she might be interested in. She is walking her oldest son to school along with his younger brother and his sister in a stroller. She receives a text message from this possible new boy friend, and because she...more

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Sep 19, 2012 cupcake rated it 5 of 5 stars

I will kick off this review by stating that I really liked this book, although I really did not like many of its characters.

Meet the Corrigans, a typical suburban Chicago family of five: mother Maura, father Pete, and three adorable children.

Cue foreboding music now.

One sunny morning, as Maura walks her sons to school, an accident takes the life of her oldest son, nine-year-old James. The circumstances behind this death are slowly revealed, just as the guilt Maura feels slowly attempts to undo h...more I will kick off this review by stating that I really liked this book, although I really did not like many of its characters.

Meet the Corrigans, a typical suburban Chicago family of five: mother Maura, father Pete, and three adorable children.

Cue foreboding music now.

One sunny morning, as Maura walks her sons to school, an accident takes the life of her oldest son, nine-year-old James. The circumstances behind this death are slowly revealed, just as the guilt Maura feels slowly attempts to undo her. How Maura and Pete react to the loss of their son is the central story of the novel. Pete disgusts his wife, whether by talking to the person ostensibly responsible for James's death or by drinking too much. But Maura has her own issues, and we are not quick to forgive her.

The other story is that of Maura's parents, Roger and Margaret. These two are a bit more stereotypical than Maura and Pete: Roger is an aging banking wizard who has enjoyed the company of a woman not his wife, largely due to Margaret's flinty personality. She is not a demonstrative woman, preferring to let her caretaking actions speak for her. Roger, on the other hand, believes he is entitled his flings, and the way in which he treats his Florida lover wins him no fans. Roger and Margaret face their own crisis, and the way in which they approach it echoes the differences between Maura and Pete.

Lee Woodruff writes with compassion, but she does not shrink away from her characters. They say and do loathsome things, and Woodruff makes no apologies for them. She lets us see what motivates them, but she does not excuse them, nor does she ask us to do so. What would you do if you lost a child? What would happen to your marriage? Pete and Maura are not held up as an example of how to deal with a tragedy, yet we do cheer for them to find their way. That is a testament to Woodruff's writing, because there are times that Pete and Maura seem to beg for unhappiness.

The same goes for Margaret and Roger. Try liking one of those two. Just try! Margaret bestows her affection with great reluctance, and Roger's inner whinging makes us think Margaret has a point. But his treatment of her is unkind at best.

I hated having to put this book down, because I got so engrossed in the stories of its characters. It is not light reading in the least, but it is good reading.

Published on cupcake's book cupboard. @VivaAmaRisata
Thanks to edelweiss for the preview(less)

5 likes · like · see review

Sep 16, 2012 Mary Gramlich rated it 5 of 5 stars

Our lives are built around a sense of checks and balances with expectations of how our life will play out. We anticipate living to a wonderful age where we have grandchildren to spoil and a quiet life surrounding us as we age. What if the order of the universe is changed and the child you planned to watch grow up is taken from you, where do you go from that one second when you were not looking and something happened that changes everything.

This book is a story about a family that details the hea...more

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Sep 09, 2012 Diane rated it 5 of 5 stars

I love a book that has such powerful emotional honesty that you just can't help becoming invested in it. CBS This Morning journalist Lee Woodruff's first novel, Those We Love Most, is one of those books.

This is a multigenerational story, about Maura, wife and mom to three young children, and her mother Margaret. A moment of inattention by Maura forever changes their lives, one that will cause her to feel incredible guilt and pain. The tragedy that follows is compounded by the secret of betrayal...more I love a book that has such powerful emotional honesty that you just can't help becoming invested in it. CBS This Morning journalist Lee Woodruff's first novel, Those We Love Most, is one of those books.

This is a multigenerational story, about Maura, wife and mom to three young children, and her mother Margaret. A moment of inattention by Maura forever changes their lives, one that will cause her to feel incredible guilt and pain. The tragedy that follows is compounded by the secret of betrayal that Maura carries.

Margaret is a rock for her daughter, doing all she can to get her and the family through the aftermath of a beloved child's death. She loves her husband Roger, and when he faces a health crisis, she is also forced to face a secret that he has been hiding from her, one that if she were honest with herself, she already knew.

This is a novel about how hard it is to be married, and the resilience of the human spirit. Margaret describes her life with Roger after many years together:
"The patterns and paths of their life together, especially in the past decade, had become more and more divergent. She had her set schedule: gardening, bridge, exercise, and the occasional lunch with friends. Being a devoted grandmother, a role of which she was immensely proud, also took up a large portion of her time....But Roger spent too much time in the office at his stage in life, in her opinion."
Margaret is a character that many women will relate to: the one who keeps things together, who never falls apart, soldiers through everything.
"Margaret believed it was wife's job to keep the exterior facade spackled and impenetrable, to prevent the cracks from showing on the outside. In her mind, a classy woman never broke rank."

Maura and her husband Pete had their own problems before the tragedy.
"Things had been operating on this half-speed for a while, Maura acknowledged, each of them heading down an easy slipstream in marriage where the valuable, intimate parts begin to erode in a tidal wave of banality."
Woodruff succeeds in bringing these women to life; indeed, they are women you feel that you know in your own life. Her observations about marriage at its different stages will resonate with many women.

The writing is insightful, and the scenes at the hospital will break your heart. It is clear that Woodruff drew on her own experiences with her husband ABC Bob Woodruff's traumatic brain injuries suffered during the Iraq War to write these emotional passages.

I can't remembered being so viscerally affected by a novel; Woodruff's first work of fiction is emotional, heartbreaking and ultimately uplifting. This is a book I will recommend to anyone looking for a story to lose yourself in.
(less)

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Dec 06, 2012 Regina Spiker rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: tragedy, loss, loss-of-a-child, affairs, families

Three normal but flawed generations of family, who are already close to splintering, are broken when one of the youngest is involved in a fatal accident. Can love and loyalty overcome even the deepest hurt?

Two favorite quotes:

"People always came out of the woodwork at a time like this, for good and bad. There was some need in human nature to insert yourself immediately, to take action, even if you knew the person only tangentially. The proximity to tragedy and sorrow caused an immediate evaluat...more

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Nov 22, 2012 Jo at Jaffareadstoo rated it 4 of 5 stars

The complexities of family life are expertly explored in this emotional story which focuses primarily on a family tragedy and then on the aftermath of coping with immense loss. The poignant vulnerability of each family member is heartbreaking to witness and yet the strength of purpose demonstrated by some of the central characters is both poignant and uplifting. From the beginning it is evident that this family at the heart of the story could quite simply be any family, defenceless, scared and u...more

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Sep 15, 2012 Kelly Hager rated it 4 of 5 stars

The novel centers around Maura, her husband Pete and her parents, Margaret and Roger. Neither marriage is as strong as it could be, but both are going along more or less fine. And then something horrible happens (I will say what in my review, because I think it's important for some to know what that is, as it could be a trigger event) and all four of them are tested in ways they wouldn't have thought possible.

In an interview in the back of the book, Lee Woodruff says that the book isn't so much...more

1 like · like · see review

Jul 08, 2012 Patty rated it 4 of 5 stars

Those We Love Most
by
Lee Woodruff

My " in a nutshell" summary...

A family suffers an unbearable loss...we are witness to the repercussions of this tragedy on every family member.

My thoughts after reading this book...

I must say that this book was sad but at no time did I ever want to stop reading it. It was beautifully written. Feelings were described in such a profound way that I felt every part of this story. The sadness of Maura, the coolness of Margaret, the less than stellar personality of Rog...more

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Dec 11, 2012 Jackie Mceachern rated it 5 of 5 stars

This is another example of a book that came into my life at the exact right moment. I absolutely loved it. The immediate striking thing about it is the absolute realism of the experiences and emotions described. The characters are life like and the entire storytelling is just so realistic.

The story focuses on a multi-generational family that suffers a horrible loss. In the days and months to come, as they cope with this loss and moving forward, we learn of other situations and stresses they are...more

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Sep 15, 2012 Bonnie Brody rated it 4 of 5 stars

Those We Love Most is an entertaining novel filled with family secrets, dysfunction, illness and death. The story starts out with Maura, who watches her son James get run over and is not able to do anything to stop it. She is tortured. Her marriage is in trouble as her husband Pete is drinking excessively. The only place she can think of to gofor help is outside the parameters of her marriage and that would only make things worse.

Margaret is Maura's mother and she is married to Roger. She knows...more

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Jan 22, 2013 LA Carlson rated it 4 of 5 stars Recommends it for: sophisticated readers

Recommended to LA by: on year end list of best books

Shelves: fiction

We learn things immediately about the Corrigan family. They are perpetually flawed and struggle with the things we all may experience. Raising children, infidelity, loss and how to keep long-term relationships fresh and vital. As the story progresses some of the characters will surprise you with growth and natural appropriate anger over life events. I think the Corrigan's represent many families where roles are often determined early and stay. There are always things not spoken of even when chan...more

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Sep 12, 2012 Charlotte rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: advanced-readers-copy

http://charlotteswebofbooks.blogspot....

Those We Love Most is every parent's worst nightmare come to life. Lee Woodruff has written such a realistic novel that it will make your heart skip a beat in several instances. As we follow Maura and her family you see that neither her marriage nor her parents are as strong as they lead everyone to believe. I really like how the author made her characters flawed, it just added to the authenticity of the story. I also really enjoyed how she included the bo...more

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Dec 01, 2012 Rhonda rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: read-in-2012

Maura lives with her husband and their three children, with her parents close by.
One day, in the blink of an eye, tragedy strikes her family, and their lives are changed forever...
A story of grief, secrets, guilt, trust, forgiveness.

Favorite Quote:

"Trust took such a long time to earn. And yet it could all come unmoored in an instant. She was smart enough to know at least that. People kept secrets. People built walls. It didn't mean they couldn't and didn't love with all their hearts.
And so thi...more

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Aug 05, 2012 Valentina rated it 4 of 5 stars

I love literary fiction. There is something so satisfying about the beautiful writing stitched along a complex, emotional plot. This book is a wonderful example of this genre.
This is, of course, a character-driven book much more than a plot-driven one, though this does not mean there isn’t a good structure around the lovely writing. In this case, it’s seeing how an entire family falls apart and recovers from the death of one of its members. There is always a danger with these kinds of books of...more

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Sep 15, 2012 Lydia Presley rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: contemporary, 2012, family, fiction

I really, really wanted to read Those We Love Most by Lee Woodruff - mostly because I enjoy a good drama centered around the overcoming of a tragedy. So when I saw the summary and the author combination here I couldn't wait to crack it open and get emotionally involved.

There were things that Woodruff did extremely well in Those We Love Most - those being the tension between family, the struggle to put the pieces back together, the vulnerability after walls come down in grief. I felt intimately c...more

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Jun 23, 2012 Rebecca Harrison rated it 3 of 5 stars

THOSE WE LOVE MOST by Lee Woodruff was a good book. I am not usually one to read non-mystery books but I am trying to broaden my horizons. The Munson family is very like most families out there in that they love each other and stick together in good times and bad. The times are bad after daughter, Maura's son is hit and killed by a car on the way to school with his mother, Maura in tow. Maura looks away and James, the son, rides his bike into the street in the path of an oncoming teen driver. Th...more

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Aug 08, 2012 Inga rated it 5 of 5 stars

My review:

I met Lee Woodruff on the BEA2012 author signing and I really had high expectations to Those We Love Most. Somehow I had an idea that it is an enjoyable read. Those We Love Most is a book about marriage, loss of your child, survival and last but not least about family values.

Plot:

Meet Maura, a wife and a mother who walks on the street on a wonderful June day. She is walking her son to school and for one moment where she is not paying attention, car hits her son James so unfortunately,...more

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Jul 16, 2012 Lisa rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: galley-arc-copies

Advanced Reader Edition received from Adriana Trigiani. A detailed and well written story about sudden loss and the profound effects and emotions tied with grief, guilt and betrayal of each of the family members and the one responsible for the loss. This is a story about the ties that bind us to family members and how to go about healing the bonds that are shaken.

1 like · like · see review

Oct 23, 2012 Missy rated it 2 of 5 stars

Just received a free copy of this book from the publisher (first-reads promotion). I'm just a few pages in, but so far so good! =====>

So I finished this about a week ago and I decided to wait to write my review because I couldn't decide if I liked it. Turns out I didn't. In fact, it made me crazy. While the writing was good, I really didn't like the story line. I just couldn't get excited about a book full of super selfish people who suddenly find themselves completely unprepared to deal with...more

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Sep 27, 2012 Sue Seligman rated it 5 of 5 stars

I read this book because one of my favorite novelists, Adriana Trigiani, recommended it on her facebook page, and she wrote a blurb on the book cover. This is a realistic novel about the effects that a tragedy has on an entire extended family. Early in the novel, Maura is walking her two sons and an toddler daughter to the local elementary school. Her oldest child is riding his bike, and when he is a bit further up the street, she takes her eyes off him for a minute, and their lives are changed...more

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Feb 02, 2013 Lauretta Farrell rated it 5 of 5 stars

This is not the type of book I usually read - as an unmarried woman with no children, I am not always able to identify with the "coming of middle age" tales that gained popularity with Oprah's Book Club. I found, though, that it is one of the most beautifully written books I have ever read. Lee Woodruff tells a story that is so vivid it was if I was watching a movie while reading - I could clearly see each character; their emotions were palpable and familiar. They could easily be the family next...more

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Aug 05, 2012 Laurel-Rain rated it 4 of 5 stars

Who could predict that on such a seductively beautiful June day, the worst would happen? Filled with a secret tucked away and causing her heart to brim over, Maura Corrigan could never have known that, before day's end, her life would change in unimaginable ways.

As we watch the events unfold, our hearts catch, knowing what lies ahead and unable to avert the disaster.

A death in the family is probably the most shattering event in life, and its after effects continue to ripple outward for months an...more

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Feb 12, 2013 Kathleen rated it 2 of 5 stars

It is as if the author wrote this novel as a homework assignment for her author writing club - insert plot A here, add twist B here, add element C here and voila - you get an "A" on following directions. The story is competently written. That's the best I can say of it. But the author seems only to be telling a story versus living the tale or inviting the reader to live it. As far as the content - it seems to be a distillation of 10 or so "Can This Marriage Be Saved" columns. There are no surpri...more

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About Lee Woodruff

In addition to Those We Love Most (Sept 2012) Lee Woodruff is co-author of New York Times bestselling In an Instant & author of a series of essays Perfectly Imperfect. She is correspondent for CBS This Morning and has written numerous articles for Ladies Home Journal, Redbook & Parade. She & her husband co founded the Bob Woodruff Foundation which assists wounded veterans & their f...more

More about Lee Woodruff...

Books by Lee Woodruff

In an Instant: A Family's Journey of Love and Healing

Living Life as a Thank You: The Transformative Power of Daily Gratitude

Live and Let Love: Notes from Extraordinary Women on the Layers, the Laughter, and the Litter of Love

Mindstorms: The Complete Guide for Families Living with Traumatic Brain Injury

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