Sunday Review: Love Anthony #giveaway

Love Anthony
by Lisa Genova

Gallery Books
Hardcover, 320 pages

New York Times Best Selling author, Lisa Genova's new book, Love Anthony is a book about two women dealing with loss, love, loneliness and autism. In Love Anthony, Lisa Genova has created two believable female characters trying to find the meaning of life and rediscovering their own personal identity.

Olivia's idea of a "normal" life seems hopeless when her son Anthony was diagnosed with autism at three years old. And just as Olivia comes to a place of acceptance, hope and happiness - Anthony died.  Beth also deals with loss after she discovered her husband of fourteen years has cheated on her.  As Beth copes with her husband's infidelity, she realizes that being wife and mother to three girls, she has lost herself in the process. Olivia and Beth's life become intertwined in the most unexpected way and it is their unlikely connection that brings them both a sense of peace.     

While Genova does not have a child with autism, she writes as if she truly understands the mind of a special needs parent. There is a scene early on when Olivia is reflecting about the day Anthony is born and all the dreams she had for him, the moment she held him in her arms for the first time. And she thinks, "She didn't know then she should have had simpler dreams for her beautiful son, that she should've looked upon her newborn baby boy and thought, I hope you learn to talk and use the bathroom by the time you're seven." Or the way Olivia constantly watches other children, looking for signs of autism.     

Being an autism mom, it was natural for me to relate to Olivia but I found myself relating to Beth's storyline also. Beth was once a writer but after becoming a wife and mother, she puts her own self aside, "stuff[ing] so much of herself into a box, banished to the attic for so many years." And through her own sense of loss, she slowly begins to reconnect with the woman she used to be before marriage and motherhood. I believe this is something many women go through. It is easy to forget who we once were. Reading Beth's journey was extremely empowering for me. I learned about myself and my marriage in Beth's story.

Love Anthony is one of the best books I've read in a long time. I related to Love Anthony is so many ways - as a woman, a writer, a wife and a special needs parent. There were moments while reading that I had to close the book, shut my eyes and take a deep breath.  Love Anthony, made me smile and cry. And when I read the last page of the book, I was sad because I wanted to follow these women for the rest of their lives. Beautifully written and painfully real, Lisa Genova, taps into every human emotion. 

Love Anthony is available for preorder and will be available on Tuesday, September 25, 2012 but you can enter to win a free hardcover copy here - see below for details.  

Lisa Genova discusses Love Anthony 

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Now for The Rules:

• You must post a comment with each entry.
• Comments will be numbered in the order they are listed and a random number generator (random.org) will be used to select the winner.
• If you combine entries into one post, you will only have one chance to win rather than up to three.
• Giveaway is open to Continental U.S.

Mandatory entry: Leave a comment. (I'd especially love to hear if you've read anything by Lisa Genova before.) 

Additional entries - you must leave a comment for each additional entry:

• Follow me on twitter - @LaliQuin  
• “Like” the AutismWonderland Facebook page
• Tweet: I just entered to win Lisa Genova's new book Love Anthony via @LaliQuin http://bit.ly/QN0Ee2 

This giveaway will end Saturday September 29th at 11:59pm EST. Winner will be announced on Facebook & Twitter by Monday, October 1st.  I will contact the winner and you will have 24 hours to reply.

Disclaimer: I was provided with a complimentary copy of Love Anthony. All opinions are my own.