We Are The Light

by: Matthew Quick

Goodreads description:

Lucas Goodgame lives in Majestic, Pennsylvania, a quaint suburb that has been torn apart by a recent tragedy. Everyone in Majestic sees Lucas as a hero—everyone, that is, except Lucas himself. Insisting that his deceased wife, Darcy, visits him every night in the form of an angel, Lucas spends his time writing letters to his former Jungian analyst, Karl. It is only when Eli, an eighteen-year-old young man whom the community has ostracized, begins camping out in Lucas’s backyard that an unlikely alliance takes shape and the two embark on a journey to heal their neighbors and, most important, themselves.

From Matthew Quick, the New York Times bestselling author of The Silver Linings Playbook, We Are the Light is an unforgettable novel about the quicksand of grief and the daily miracle of love. The humorous, soul-baring story of Lucas Goodgame offers an antidote to toxic masculinity and celebrates the healing power of art. In this tale that will stay with you long after the final page is turned, Quick reminds us that guardian angels are all around us—sometimes in the forms we least expect.

Helen says: 🤓🤓

I was looking forward to reading this since I loved The Silver Linings Playbook. Unfortunately, it didn’t measure up. Do yourself a favor and skip this one. I had to restart it a few times because it was hard to remember what I had read (and not because of drinking- just dry content). This book was quirky- about two people that have been faced with insurmountable grief and have nothing to lose by collaborating together to get through it. It was funny in parts but also in incredibly poor taste- it is hard to laugh about the aftermath of a mass shooting. It just didn’t sit well with me.

Click here to purchase- I implore you not to though.

Holly says: 🤓🤓3/4

Initially, I did not care for this book, but over time (and it does not take much time, because it is a pretty short novel), it grew on me. It is the story of healing following a major tragedy, and there are more pains and breakdowns along the way. This book does have a gasp-out-loud realization that I truly did not see coming. You will not quite know what to make of Lucas Goodgame, especially early in the story, or the other residents of Majestic, PA, but you will pull hard for them as they lean on and support each other. Confusing, unsettling – a very different type of book.