Something Terrible About Love | Austin Macauley Publishers ;
Best Book Publishers UK | Austin Macauley Publishers

By: Bonnie MacDougall

Something Terrible About Love

Pages: 170 Ratings: 5.0
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Love can be ecstasy only to be lost. It can lift then desert. Love is forever one day, never the next, always forgiven, never forgotten. Love can act like a dream, react like a nightmare. Yet, in life’s long picture, love is everything. It is life lived, and life is worth living only for love, but there is always something terrible about love. Helen Baird loves her only child, Kristen, with her whole heart, yet Kristen is a runaway. Helen desperately tries to track Kristen down. When Helen’s initial attempts bungle, she asks local nun, Sister Maria Carmelite, called Carmie, a former runaway herself, for help. Carmie drives Helen into New York where the two ramp up the search for Kristen. Years have accumulated with no leads about Kristen’s whereabouts. Helen enters therapy in search of healing after the tormenting loss of her daughter. Guardedly, Helen allows her own life to unfold as her estranged brother, a boss with personal information, and her high school boyfriend all resurface.

Bonnie MacDougall was raised in Bethesda, Maryland. Her B.A. is from Cedar Crest College; her M.A. (highest honors/summa cum laude) is from Columbia University, as is her Ph.D. in English Renaissance literature. She taught at the Chapin School and the Spence School in Manhattan before taking a position at Bergen Community College and was soon promoted to the rank of Professor. She served as Interim Academic Vice President for a year, and was named Professor Emerita on her retirement. She has written fiction all those years. Her first novel, Something Terrible About Love, was released in November, 2022. Her second novel, Love, Ruthie, was released in November, 2023.Dr. MacDougall lives in Vero Beach, Florida, with her husband, Donald Grein. She is on the Board of Directors of the Laura (Riding) Jackson Foundation.
Customer Reviews
5.0
11 reviews
11 reviews
  • rosalie b. geisler

    Enjoyed the characters. Kept my interest constantly. The subject is very interesting.

  • Shira

    I just finished reading this exquisite novel. Something Terrible About Love. Bonnie McDougall has really written something exquisite. It is a must read, and I highly recommend this book to everyone. Without giving away too much detail about the book I had a dear friend, who had a very similar illness and more attention needs to be drawn to issues like this. Beautifully written. Thank you so much Bonnie McDougall

  • Courtnee Turner Hoyle for Readers' Favorite

    In Love, Ruthie by Bonnie MacDougall, Ruthie Lucas is enjoying her view of Sebastian Bay when she receives a letter from a close friend, Jane. The letter asks Ruthie for her interpretation of a quote from a William Wordsworth poem, described as "child is father of the man." Ruthie decides to give the idea intense consideration as she recounts her life experiences, searching for instances where her decisions impacted her adulthood, forming her personality. She dissects defining events from her childhood through her early twenties, but one instance from her past solidifies her conclusion. After her reflection, Ruthie reveals her feelings about the line in a letter to Jane and adds a surprise. Bonnie MacDougall builds Ruthie's character from the bottom up, exposing every detail of her experiences to reveal the naivete that comes with the transition from a new adult into maturity. Readers witness Ruthie's good decisions, like her friendship with Jane, and her mistakes - the same most people make in their youth - and understand her developing personality better as she meets her "shadow" during times of intense stress. From her description of sporadic popularity to her feelings about her family's culture, I felt like Ruthie was trying to find a place where she belonged, and I was along for the ride. I enjoyed learning about her self-discoveries and the ones prompted by her friend as she navigated through hardship, heartache, and grief. Readers who like women's fiction with good descriptive language will enjoy Love, Ruthie.

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