Me for You

By: Lolly Winston

Narrated by: George Newbern, Cassandra Campbell

Length: 7 hrs and 21 mins

Publisher's Summary

From The New York Times best-selling author of Good Grief comes a richly poignant and stirring story that asks: How soon is too soon to fall in love again?

The last thing Rudy expected was to wake up one Saturday morning, a widower at 54 years old. Now, 10 months after the untimely death of his beloved wife, he’s still not sure how to move on from the defining tragedy of his life - but his new job is helping. After being downsized from his finance position, Rudy turned to his first love: the piano. Some people might be embarrassed to work as the piano player at Nordstrom, but for Rudy, there’s joy in bringing a little music into the world. And it doesn’t hurt that Sasha, the Hungarian men’s watch clerk who is finally divorcing her no-good husband, finds time to join him at the bench every now and then. 

Just when Rudy and Sasha’s relationship begins to deepen, the police come to the store with an update about Rudy’s wife’s untimely death - a coworker has confessed to her murder - but Rudy’s actions are suspicious enough to warrant a second look at him, too. With Sasha’s husband suddenly reappearing, and Rudy’s daughter confronting her own marital problems, suddenly life becomes more complicated than Rudy and Sasha could have imagined.  

With trademark humor and sweetness, which will appeal to readers and listeners of Jennifer Weiner and Fredrik Backman but is uniquely her own, Lolly Winston delivers a heartfelt and realistic portrait of loss and grief, hope and forgiveness, and two imperfect people coming together to create a perfect love story. 

©2018 Lolly Winston (P)2018 Simon & Schuster

Enjoyable Listen

I must admit, I only ordered this book because it was written by a Bay Area writer (someone I knew nothing about), and it was mentioned in the San Francisco Chronicle. Within the first few minutes I was absorbed into the story about a downsized tech employee who plays the piano at Nordstrom to make ends meet. The story that unfolds is full of love, struggle, and endearing characters as they work to rebuild their lives. Your life will not be improved by the story, but your week will.

Joy rises from sadness

Lolly Winston has a special way of telling about the complex emotions of loss and turning the grief process into recovery and joy with humor and inspiration.

Not Her Best

I absolutely loved Good Grief and Happiness Sold Separately, so I had high hopes for this new book. I don't like giving bad reviews and I truly hate to say this but this book was kind of boring. It had some touching moments, but the story line was too flat and just not that complex or interesting. Hoping the next one is better!

Nothing humorous

This is a sad book about a man who's wife has just died and a woman who's 8 year old daughter died. They keep each other company. Nothing like Backman!! I haven't even smiled.

Just Didnt Do It For Me..

I loved the beginning of the story. It was easy to follow along and seemed to be relatable for people going through the loss of a spouse. But after the first few chapters the book felt very choppy and like many different stories smooshed into one book. It was all over the place and seemed to have so many things introduced throughout the story. Maybe the author jumped around and introduced so many things for a reason? Maybe that is how she wanted to present how Rudy dealt with the loss of his wife? I am not really sure if that was the intention, but that’s how I took it. I wasn't really captivated by any of the characters. I usually cling to at least one character in all of the books that I read, but with this one really no one did it for me. I really tried to connect with someone in the book, but they just didn't keep my interest. This was my first time reading something by Lolly Winston. I heard nothing but good things about her and with the description of the book, I thought this might be something I would really enjoy. I think the main thing is that this book was just not for me. I enjoyed some parts of it but with the constant jumping around and overall flow of the book isn't something that I am in to. One good thing I loved about this book was that it talked about mental health. It showed you what it was like for Rudy to lose his wife and the way he grieved her loss. Winston didn't shame mental health or push the part out of the story, she fully embraced it and showed you that it's okay to be sad or mad and seek and accept help when you need it. I am giving this read ⭐️⭐️⭐️ stars. I received an advanced copy of this book (eBook) in exchange for an honest review. Thank you to NetGalley, Lolly Winston, and Gallery Books for the opportunity to review.