(Reviewed by JD Jung)
#CommissionsEarned
“An entire life, lived on the outside edges, like a shadow pressing into other people’s problems and dramas.”
What happens when you deny your true self in order to avoid conflict and comply with other’s expectations of you?
Gavin married his college sweetheart, had a son, but hated the well-paying job he obtained from his wife’s uncle. To keep the peace at home, he let his wife make all the decisions affecting him personally and that of the family, which destroyed his own happiness.
More importantly, he suppressed his feelings for a fellow male teenager he met in high school, which haunted him throughout his adult years.
We learn the details of Gavin’s life when he starts a conversation with a stranger on a park bench. This woman, Jackie, is able to bring out the stories of strangers, but is deeply scarred herself. Having no family or friends, the only way she can emotionally protect herself is to avoid all self-reflection. She accomplishes this by trying to help others who she feels are more emotionally damaged than she is.
Life, Slightly wrestles with self-sabotage, guilt, shame, and denial. This is not only a story about embracing a path of self-discovery, but also one of those who refuse to. The lives and ordeals of the supporting characters provide elements of surprise to the reader and their inner turmoil is often felt in secret.
The author doesn’t fall into the trap of making this a one-sided pity-party, as Gavin eventually realizes that his early actions due to wanting to be accepted would deeply hurt others and this pain would last throughout their lives. There isn’t only one victim here.
Readers who welcome realistic accounts of life, will enjoy this novel. Life, Slightly shows us that life is messy, but we must accept and live all of it.
