Review: The Resurrection of Tess Blessing by Lesley Kagen

SYNOPSIS

The Resurrection of Tess Blessing is by turns heartbreaking and heartwarming, emotional, perceptive, slightly magical, and funny. It’s a redemptive story about second chances and realizing what—and who—is really important, before it’s too late.

After she is diagnosed with breast cancer, fifty-one-year-old Tess sets forth on a mission to complete her final “to-do” list before, what she’s sure is, her impending death. She needs to make peace with her estranged sister, say goodbye to her mother’s long-kept ashes that she keeps in the garage, rescue her daughter from the grip of an eating disorder, help her son grow-up, and reignite the spark in her marriage. One factor she never considers is that she might have to stick around and deal with her handiwork.

Tess is aided on her quest by narrator, Grace, who lends the story its most brilliant elements: subtle magical realism and deep psychological complexity. Is Grace an “imaginary friend,” guardian angel, or a part of Tess who knows better than she?

The Resurrection of Tess Blessing is authentic, funny, sad, and at its heart… redemptive.

Kagen is an amazing writer and here is why...she makes you feel the stories deep down into your bones, into your soul. Her newest novel is about a woman who receives terrible news and sets out to try to make right the things in her life that are wrong. Her marriage is not the same, her daughter is going through some hard times, her son rarely speaks and her sister, well, her sister is a whole different story. When an unexpected friend enters her life, she is able to set forth with her check list and an unyielding determination that is both moving and heartbreaking. With the most emotionally brilliant story to date Tess takes you on a journey that touches on family dynamics, illness, and the strength that comes from having a friend by your side. Never predictable, with a story that you want to both savor and devour, The Resurrection of Tess Blessing is a book that will resonate with you long after you finish reading. 5 stars and a book club MUST read!!!

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