TELL ME EVERYTHING by Elizabeth Strout

5 stars!

We re-enter the irresistible world of Lucy Barton, Bob Burgess and Olivia Kitteridge in the small town of Crosby Maine in Elizabeth Strout’s brilliant latest.

Where we last left off, acclaimed writer Lucy Barton escaped NYC during COVID and bought a Maine seaside house as a retreat. Her first husband William ends up moving in with her as he too needs a retreat after the failure of his latest marriage. Lucy’s still mourning the death of her beloved second husband David. Lucy’s also struggling with her two daughters becoming increasing independent of her, which leaves her feeling alienated and unloved. Olive is in an independent living facility a town over and bemoaning the slow demise of her best friend Isabella, who’s been moved to the facility’s memory care unit. Bob’s first wife Pam catches her husband having an affair and starts drinking to excess. Bob feels like no one really listens to him, especially her pastor wife who he believes has the tendencies of a narcissist.

Amidst all this, two important things happen.

First, Lucy and Bob start going on weekly walks along the river, and former an ever tighter friendship, really listening to and empathizing with each other’s lives, relationships, stories, anxieties, and deepest intimacies. The frisson of romance rears up, threatening to upend each of their lives.

Second, Lucy finally gets introduced via Bob to Olivia, who announces she has a story to share with Lucy. Olive wants her friend’s life to be recorded, hopefully in a future book by Lucy. They start meeting regularly to exchange stories about people they have known in the past- and to be honest, they both totally don’t much appreciate each other’s shared tales. But what they share is common is this earnest, painful consideration of trying to figure out what’s the point of life. They consider if there’s a takeaway from each of their stories that can illuminate the meaning of each person’s life. They mostly come up empty handed, but filled with deep empathy for others and their “unrecorded lives.”

Meanwhile, Bob accepts a case as defense counsel for a grown son, living with his cranky mother and the mother has been found dead miles away in a quarry. His defense of the son cracks open yet another sad, compelling tale.

Interwoven throughout the novel is the powerful theme of how much childhood trauma (from abuse to abject poverty to peer rejection to bad parenting) sets the stage for life’s ongoing struggles, and the work it takes to just get by day to day in the best way folks know how.

Wow! More please!!

Thanks to Random House Publishing Group 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.