Edelweiss, Illness, Women's

A Heart-breaking Story of a Mother and Daughter Love Rosie Colored Glasses by Brianna Wolfson

Rosie Colored Glasses was a truly sad, and yet beautiful book. I chose it because the blurb gave the impression of an emotional story, but I never thought it would be this emotional. Maybe not best to read if you have a sensitive heart, but a very moving and special story nonetheless.

Rosie colored glasses is a novel based on the authors own experiences and relationship with a mother with an addiction. It’s a heart-breaking tale of a mother’s and daughter’s love, and the mother’s crippling inability to give it, although she’s so good at being loving and emotional. It’s a tale of how damaging depression and substance abuse can be, and how much a hurting person needs others to help them out, because when you’re in that state, you are unable to help yourself, and it’s a mistake if others think you are. It’s also a novel about how differently a child can see the world and how many things aren’t the way they appear to be when you are growing up.

At first, it was a hard story to get into, but then I just couldn’t stop going. It evokes empathy, sadness and longing. It makes you admire how colorful and alive Rosie is, and it crushes you how a person so vibrant and attuned to living fully can crumble under the weight of it all, the force of so much ‘living’. And how she’s expected to get herself out from under it all alone. How her husband goes on without trying to help her, not really – you don’t offer help to a depressed person ONCE and then never again.

The story of the wife and husband in this book is fairly complicated too. Two people who should have never been together fall in love. One lives in a strict world of rules, and the other – in a fluid world of possibility. It could have never worked. And it ultimately brings so many problems.

Overall...

Willow’s story is a story about love, motherhood and fatherhood, even childhood, and it’s also a story of letting go. I believe it won’t leave you cold or indifferent. Chances are, you might even shed a tear or two. It’s also a tale about how different love can be – every kind of person has a different kind of love. But every kind of person expects and needs a different kind of love as well. And especially children might not be able to understand your love, if you can’t offer than one particular kind they’ve been thriving on all their life.

Content warnings: substance abuse, suicide, divorce, incapability of taking care of children, bullying.

I thank Mira Books for giving me a free copy of the book in exchange to my honest opinion. You can buy the book here at Book Depository and buying using this link supports the blog.

Have you read Rosie Colored Glasses or other such stories? And do you go for sad and emotional tales, or do you shy away from these?