I Like You Just Fine When You're Not Around
I Like You Just Fine When You're Not Around book cover

I Like You Just Fine When You're Not Around

by
Price
$16.99
Format
Paperback
Pages
288
Publisher
Gallery Books
Publication Date
ISBN-13
978-1440595455
Dimensions
5.5 x 0.72 x 8.44 inches
Weight
11.2 ounces

Description

"It's not enough that Ann Garvin is hilarious. Then she has to go ahead and be compassionate and wise about the hopeful car-wreck that is most of humanity...Garvin builds an unorthodox family that's both tight knit and forever at odds, and not one of those family members feels any less than rich, real, and complex-just what a novel needs." -Michelle Wildgen, author of You're Not You and Bread and Butter -xa0"Ann Garvin writes delightfully flawed characters and compelling plots with humor and compassion. Her view of the world makes people not only fans of her work, but fangirls of her personally." --Ann Imig LISTEN TO YOUR MOTHERIn I LIKE YOU JUST FINE WHEN YOU'RE NOT AROUND, Ann Garvin skillfully weaves an intricate tale of life and love that allows the reader to easily immerse herself in a complex family dynamic. The cast of characters is realisticxa0as well asxa0delightfully quirky, and Garvin's sharp wit and keen insight shine through on every page. I LIKE YOU JUST FINE WHEN YOU'RE NOT AROUND is a heartwarming and humorous read. --Amy Sue Nathan, author of THE GLASS WIVESxa0"Told with Garvin's charming wit and propelled by mystery,xa0I Like You Just Fine When You're Not Aroundxa0challenges our definition of family and love. A poignant and humor-filled look at those who care for everyone but themselves."-Kate Morettixa0New York Timesxa0author ofxa0Thought I Knew You And Binds That Tie"I Like You Just Fine When You're Not Aroundxa0captures the gritty truth of a family in crisis as the heartbreak of Alzheimer's disease collides with caring for new life. Author Ann Garvin, writing with warmth and wisdom, explores sisters turning from piercing love to boiling rage and back again as they cope with the exhaustion of being the sandwiched generation."-Randy Susan Meyers, bestselling author ofxa0Accidents of Marriage This book is for any woman who has everpondered the unfairness of life, who has wished for there to be someone to calland weigh-in on an imbalanced marriage or list of duties. For any woman whodoes more than their fair share, meet Tig Monohan, a frazzled woman who isworking so hard to care for her mother with Alzheimer's, her colicky niece andwayward boyfriend that she finally has had enough and decides to put her footdown on the radio and set things straight. Ann Garvin is the author of The Dog Year and On Maggie's Watch . She lives in Stoughton WI, and is a professor of sports psychology at the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater and a MFA teacher in New Hampshire. Read more

Features & Highlights

  • Everything is falling apart in psychologist Tig Monahan's life. Her mother's dementia is wearing her out; her boyfriend takes off for Hawaii without her; and her sister inexplicably disappears, leaving her newborn behind. When a therapy session goes horribly wrong, Tig finds herself unemployed and part of the sandwich generation trying to take care of everyone and failing miserably. Just when she thinks she can redefine herself on the radio as an arbiter of fairness, she discovers a family secret that nobody saw coming. It will take everything plus a sense of humor to see her way clear to a better life, but none of that will happen if she can't let go of her past.

Customer Reviews

Rating Breakdown

★★★★★
30%
(652)
★★★★
25%
(543)
★★★
15%
(326)
★★
7%
(152)
★
23%
(500)

Most Helpful Reviews

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Good writing but disconnected and hard to believe plot

Mixed feelings on this book - I like the author's writing style, and her ability to personalize the main characters. The premise of the book was solid: a single woman tackling care of a mother with Alzheimer's and a sister who doesn't take on shared responsibility. But I really struggled to like the main character - she was constantly veering from unsure of herself to TOO sure of herself. Even though she's an experienced therapist, she won't vocalize how she feels about others - at all. I also found her reactions to situations didn't feel true. The book left me unsatisfied - I wouldn't recommend.
4 people found this helpful
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A troubled therapist learns to help herself

Dr. Tig Monahan is good at helping others, but lousy at helping herself. That pretty much sums up the plot of this light, sweet, funny story, but the journey that leads Tig to self-understanding is a fun ride. Tig's mother is afflicted with Alzheimer's and seldom remembers her daughter's name. When her irresponsible but charismatic older sister shows up hugely pregnant, Tig must juggle her demands as well as their mother's. Pile onto this a demanding boyfriend who wants her to move from Wisconsin to Hawaii, a new job as a radio-show therapist, and a lawsuit by a disgruntled patient, and Tig just wants to curl into a ball and hide. It was fun watching her uncurl again, figure out her priorities, and learn to lovingly assert herself. A feel-good read for gloomy times.
3 people found this helpful
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Ann Garvin Talks Family - Tears, Laughter, and Other Extremes!

My first encounter with Ann Garvin will definitely not be my last. The protagonist, Tig Manahan, prides herself with having the smarts to deal with just about any of the major challenges faced by adults these days. Her mother is disappearing a little at a time of Alzheimer's. Whoever has lost a parent this way is tempted to weep, but wait! Mom is not gone; she's sharp as a razor at times, and among her memories are some amazing discoveries! The boyfriend goes away to Hawaii, after Tig says she can't possibly get away because too many people are counting on her. But wait! He leaves and Tig gets a call from niece Melanie, who is very pregnant, needs a place to stay, has the baby, then runs off for a while! Tig is fired from her job and is coaxed into having a talk show where people call in and describe their hopeless lives in exchange for a neat and well wrapped solution from the doc, who shows that having the answer key doesn't guarantee an A in the course (of life).
Ann Garvin gives us rich prose, accurately cluttered emotions moving like the wind. Add a fear of loving again, discovering holes in the family tree, learning that families can drive you bananas, the reader will not let go of this book until it is read, digested, and more, please!
3 people found this helpful
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Ann Garvin Gets It

I really enjoyed this book. The protagonist, Tig Monahan, is the proverbial responsible one: good daughter, good sister, caring therapist to the world's problems. She loses control when she gets sandwiched between the needs of her job, her mother's dementia, her sister's irresponsibility, and the boyfriend who doesn't see that she has actual duties in life, other than running off in pursuit of a good time. The editor could have been a bit more diligent-- missing period, missing quotation mark, and minor typos ("talking" instead of "taking"). Also, if you are going to write about Hawaii, fact-check your information. Waikiki Beach is NOT on the Big Island, it's on Oahu! Last, for pete's sake, learn the difference between mantel and mantle!
2 people found this helpful
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It Just Didn't Work Out

This was a tough one for me. It had such potential. I saw the mixed reviews, and though I always take them into consideration when choosing a book, I went with my gut.

The description was what won me over...

And ultimately what probably lost me in the end.

My expectations for this book were higher than the author seemed capable of meeting. It had everything it claimed to- humor, compassion, sadness, confusion and frustration; it was everything... which made it nothing. I felt like I read four different books in one. Nothing went deep enough, nothing was consuming enough to pull me in. No character was strong enough to empathize with and there were so many stories going on at one time that even the story line wasn't fulfilling.

If you asked me to describe this book to you in only one sentence, I would tell you that "This author couldn't make up her mind on what this book should be about, so instead she took four different books and molded them into one... and it just didn't work out."
2 people found this helpful
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I Liked It MUCH MORE Than Fine!

What a wonderful way to spend a rainy day, reading I Like You Just Fine When You're Not Around!
I was expecting a light hearted romantic comedy but oh, it was so much more!
I loved the characters, I loved the story, I loved the writing! What more to say? I didn't want it to end!
Thank you, Ann for such a delightful book!
2 people found this helpful
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Ann writes with great wit and wisdom

Ann writes with great wit and wisdom. She has a unique storytelling style that is simply delightful. Although she tackles many real life issues as two sisters are left to figuring how to adjust to life when their mother succumbs to Alzheimer's, Ann does so with grace, understanding, and a deeply clever sense of humor.
2 people found this helpful
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Funny, down to earth

Tig Monahan is a psychologist doing her best to help her clients while her own life is in turmoil. The scene early on with her clients, the Harmeyers, is priceless! Tig's mother has dementia and though Tig has been trying to keep her at her home, she is forced to place her in a nursing home, because working full time and keeping track of Mom is wearing her down,. Tig's sister, Wendy, is MIA again just when she could use some major help with Mom. Tig's boyfriend Pete is heading off on sabbatical to Hawaii and Tig was planning to follow him, but now with so much going on, she's got second thoughts. There is such a lovely, funny voice resonating through this book. I felt like Tig was someone I knew or someone I could easily find myself friends with. There's a little romance, though I gotta say, I was no fan of Pete, but that's part of what spurs you to read on, especially after Tig meets Alec. Wendy turns up with a surprise and dumps more heartache on Tig, though she redeems herself. Plus there's a thread of mystery. Tig's father died before she was born and when she finds a cedar box full of letters and some mementos in her mom's stuff she starts to question everything she ever knew about her dad and mom, sadly mom's illness makes asking questions impossible. Would be a fun book club pick. Thank you to author Ann Garvin for the ARC and chance to read another book by a talented lady.
2 people found this helpful
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when the therapist cracks

Dr. Tig Monahan is struggling. Her mom has been moved to memory care because Tig can no longer keep up with the Alzheimer's. Her sister Wendy is MIA as usual. Her boyfriend wants her to go on sabbatical with him to Hawaii for a year. And her therapy patients are seriously trying her patience.

Then she tells off a client, goes home and finds out her boyfriend wants to go to Hawaii without her and her wayward sister turns up on her doorstep with a surprise. The only thing Tig can rely on now is her doodle Thatcher. Thank goodness for the comfort of pets.

This is a book about finding yourself, letting go of old habits, moving forward, and family dynamics. It's about figuring out what you really want and going for it. I liked it. It's not one I'm likely to remember a year from now, but I did enjoy it while I was in it.
1 people found this helpful
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I should have read it more slowly because I was very sad to say goodbye to Tig (the protagonist) and company

I inhaled this novel. I should have read it more slowly because I was very sad to say goodbye to Tig (the protagonist) and company. I love a book with a good family secret, and Garvin's skill in exploring this particular one (among other tensions) keeps the pages turning fast (but not at the expense of emotional depth). Garvin gets family dynamics. She writes sad and funny, which is why she can tackle the hard stuff, in this case a family's struggle to deal with Alzheimer's. Her characters leap off the page, every single one of them, major and minor, canine and human. Amazing. And Tig's voice is absolutely pitch perfect. This novel is chock-full of heart and humor, perfect for a book club pick.
1 people found this helpful

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