LIKE HAPPINESS by Ursula Villarreal-Moura

4 stars

Tatum, a Williams college student sends off an effusive fan letter to her favorite author, Mateo, who writes her back much to her astonishment and strikes up a friendship. Tatum, growing up in San Antonio in a working-class Mexican immigrant family, feels alienated and lonely at her mostly white college. She finds herself as a Latina literature and art history major struggling to relate to works almost all by white creators. She feels transported when discovering a book of stories, Like Happiness, that powerfully captures her Latina roots and experience. Tatum is smitten by its author Mateo. Their friendship is mostly platonic, but sometimes sexual, and Tatum feels herself endlessly swept along the allure of both Mateo’s fame and his professions of love that she is “his life.” Tatum and Mateo each have different relationships but continue to circle each other until an explosive revelation as Mateo finally manages to publish a second novel.

Years later living in Santiago, Chile with her girlfriend, Tatum gets contacted by a New York Times reporter looking for comments on a story he’s writing about accusations of sexual abuse by Mateo of another Latina woman. Over a series of conversations, Tatum realizes she wants to resolve her own unrequited feelings and lingering hurt, and so she crafts a letter to Mateo reflecting back on their ambiguous and now broken friendship. Was he abusive to her emotionally, especially given their wildly unbalanced power dynamic? Did Mateo groom Tatum as a young woman? When does deep betrayal constitute abuse?

Amidst poetic language and haunting shared memories, the emotional complexity and obsessive relationship powerfully grab you.

Thanks to Celadon Books and NetGalley for an advanced reader’s copy.

Stacy DeBroff

Stacy DeBroff, founder and CEO of Mom Central.com and social and digital consultancy, Influence Central, is a social media strategist, attorney, and best-selling parenting author. A sought-after expert for national media, she trend-spots regularly with national brands and speaks frequently to national and international audiences on a wide range of subjects, including influencer marketing, social media, entrepreneurship, and consumer trends. A passionate cook, gardener, reader, and tennis player, she adores this new chapter of post-college-age parenting.