FOREVER, INTERRUPTED (Taylor Jenkins Reid)

Imagine unexpectedly meeting your soul mate, falling in love, and moving in together, all within the space of less than 6 months.  Imagine that you marry on the spur of the moment and that your love has not found a way to tell his recently widowed mother about the happiness that he has found with you.  Then imagine that after just 9 days of wedded bliss he is taken from you, killed in a automobile accident while on a mundane errand at your request.  This is the premise of Forever, Interrupted.  As Elsie struggles to come to terms with her guilt (why did she ask Ben to go out and buy her favorite cereal?) and the loss of her soul mate, she must also find a way to connect with Ben's mother, Susan, who is shocked to find that her beloved son had married without telling her.  Reid cleverly alternates between the story of Elsie and Ben's developing romance and Elsie and Susan's journey through grief and healing.  This novel is heart-wrenching, yet hopeful, a wonderful story for anyone who has loved someone.