This Close to Okay

A Novel

De: Leesa Cross-Smith

Narrado por: Kamali Minter, Zeno Robinson

A powerful, vibrant novel about the life-changing weekend shared between two strangers, from the award-winning writer Roxane Gay calls "a consummate storyteller."​

On a rainy October night in Kentucky, recently divorced therapist Tallie Clark is on her way home from work when she spots a man precariously standing at the edge of a bridge. Without a second thought, Tallie pulls over and jumps out of the car into the pouring rain. She convinces the man to join her for a cup of coffee, and he eventually agrees to come back to her house, where he finally shares his name: Emmett.

Over the course of the emotionally charged weekend that follows, Tallie makes it her mission to provide a safe space for Emmett, though she hesitates to confess that this is also her day job. What she doesn’t realize is that Emmett isn’t the only one who needs healing—and they both are harboring secrets.

Alternating between Tallie and Emmett’s perspectives as they inch closer to the truth of what brought Emmett to the bridge’s edge—as well as the hard truths Tallie has been grappling with since her marriage ended—This Close to Okay is an uplifting, cathartic story about chance encounters, hope found in unlikely moments, and the subtle magic of human connection.

Book of the Month December Pick
Good Housekeeping Book Club February Pick
Marie Claire Book Club March Pick
Most Anticipated by Elle, Today (according to Goodreads), The Millions, She Reads, and Real Simple
Recommended by Refinery29, Shondaland, Oprah Daily, Washington Post, Glamour, Cosmopolitan, Electric Literature, Bookriot, Parade, Harper's Bazaar, and more

Reseñas de la Crítica

"Leesa Cross-Smith is such a beguiling writer and her skills are on full display in So We Can Glow. These are stories about breathless love, lustful abandon, all that glitters, hot summers, cool pavement, sticky skin, beautifully beating hearts. There is such authenticity to these stories and nostalgia that is tempered with just enough of a clear-eyed understanding of the world as it is, not just how we hoped it might be. It's also refreshing to see a writer crafting stories that are so unapologetically for women, about women, a love letter to who we are, the best and worst of us, held high and true, so we can glow as brightly as we dare."—Roxane Gay, New York Times bestselling author

“This book hits the ground running. Cross-Smith writes tenderly about the trial and error of intimacy and draws you in with enormous warmth and control.”—Raven Leilani, New York Times bestselling author of Luster

"Leesa Cross-Smith writes the way many people wish they could: ferociously, tenderly, and with a tremendous amount of heart."—Kristen Arnett, New York Times bestselling author of Mostly Dead Things (on So We Can Glow)

"Leesa Cross-Smith is a consummate storyteller who uses her formidable talents to tell the oft-overlooked stories of people living in that great swath of place between the left and right coasts... Where she is most stunning is in the endings...creating crisp, evocative moments that will linger long after you've read this book's very last word."—Roxane Gay (praise for Every Kiss A War)

“Leesa Cross-Smith has written a book to help us through these bleak and confusing times. This Close to Okay is a story of loneliness and wrenching loss, perfectly counterbalanced by the compassion of strangers and the love of family. This book is a hand-knitted sweater in the middle of a cold winter night.”—Bryn Greenwood, New York Times bestselling author of The Reckless Oath We Made

"This Close to Okay is such a joy to read! It at once delights and moves, its sweetness and sass and sexiness balanced with deep questions about honesty, intimacy, and heartbreak. Leesa Cross-Smith is a confident storyteller and, in her hands, her characters come alive; they are fallible, charming, complicated, and--like all of us--aching for connection."
—Edan Lepucki, New York Times author of California and Woman No. 17

"This Close to Okay is the kind of novel that allows the reader to slip into a world rich with both comforts and troubles. The story of Emmett and Tallie is delicious, romantic, cozy, and satisfying, and it's also mysterious, unstable, and loaded with loss. This book opens up hard emotions and truths, but it also offers moments of relief and attention to the sustaining pleasures of life."—Naima Coster, author of What's Mine and Yours and Halsey Street

A good enough easy read (but TW: suicide)

At first, I was concerned about the overt religious references and did not want to keep going if it would continue. It did, but not at a high frequency. It just felt like it didn't fit. The story itself ks quite intetesting and the alternating narration works well. The end is a bit messy and inexplicable.

heart-warming

This is my first time writing a review and this book deserves it. 5 stars all the way!

We're they supposed to be black??

Sounded like this book was written to portray a white story line but they decided at the last minute to make the characters bi-racial?! The story didn't align with real-life black characters at all. Very white washed.

Wasn't What I Expected!!!

I personally loved the storyline. Kept me engaged,the narrator was good also. Look forward to more reads/listens by this author.

These VOICES!

I loved the performances of the words. So much of this work is beautifully done.

It had potential

I was prepared for a predictable storyline due to the beginning but it wasn't typical. It fell flat. My joy stopped after they arrived at the hospital. So much could have been done but wasn't. I don't even have a quote or lesson that I learned. I'm walking away with nothing to remember this book by. The narrators were okay.

Beautiful and Intimate

I loved both main characters and this book was a great listen! Love her use of language.

should be labeled a christian book

this book could be triggering for those sensitive to suicide. it has more prayer and religious references than a typical fiction book

Beautiful story

This was an excellent story and I quite enjoyed the dynamics of how the relationship between the two main characters unfolded. At first I thought it would be hard to maintain a story line with just two characters, but the author did bring in other characters along the way and even with just the two, the man and the woman, both dialogue and narrative moved along well.

My only issue with the story is that on a number of occasions, I questioned its plausibility. Would a smart woman really pick up a desperate man who was about to jump off a bridge? I can see how a smart and compassionate woman could do that and persuade him to go with her to an all-night coffee shop but not take him back to her apartment alone. It just seemed too dangerous. Doesn't Leesa Cross-Smith watch Dateline :) Or all the documentaries about people you meet on the Internet, largely male, who assault their dates, catfish them, sextort them or even murder them? I'm not saying you can't trust men but I am saying that I would not trust a desperate stranger on a bridge, particularly a man who's about to jump.

Once I got past that part of the story line, because I recognized that it could happen, I thoroughly enjoyed the book.

The only reason I rated the narrator four stars instead of five was that although she had a beautiful voice, her enunciation was not great with words like didn't or wouldn't (which came out sounding more like "dint, wount, etc).

I would recommend this title. Well done.

Confusing Ending

Overall I liked and enjoyed the book. But the mixed feelings the main character had about 2 different men was confusing. It seemed liked the author didn’t know how to wrap things up. Hated the ending.