I received this book from The Next Best Book Club in exchange for an honest review.
“The thing about grief was that you never got used to it. It was survivable, physically, but it still hurt the same each time, like surgery without anesthesia or diving into cold water,” (Michalski 29).
Long unhappy with her life and marriage, Lacie Johnson is about to ask her husband Derek for a divorce when he suffers a stroke and falls into a coma. Her plans at starting over now halted, Lacie wonders what her life will be now that she doesn’t know what Derek’s fate will be as her two grown children return home amongst the chaos. But in that chaos Lacie meets Quinn, a kind, former riot-grrrl on her way to British Columbia to live with a group of grief survivors after the death of her young daughter. Lacie and Quinn have an instant connection, but Quinn has a secret connection to Derek, but she doesn’t know how to tell Lacie without destroying everything.
Jen Michalski is such a talented writer, able to evoke strong emotions and most notably grief in her writing. I mentioned this when I reviewed her short story collection a few years back, so when I was offered to read her newest novel I was excited to do so. And Michalski continues that talent in All This Can Be True, creating complicated and layered characters who you just want to be happy.
It’s a very tender story. Lacie is a recovering addict who has been unhappy with her life for a long while, having married her husband Derek young and been humiliated by his constant infidelity. She has a fraught relationship with her grown children, and at one point had an affair with the mother of one of her daughter’s friends. And she’s a character who tries to do better. Even though she is sober her struggle with addiction is still present, but she maintains a friendship with her sponsor to help her during the difficult times, and even with her husband he admitted to his mistakes in the marriage and started over fresh with Lacie without any cheating. Despite how hard it was to like some of these characters at times, I admired the acknowledgement of their flaws and their willingness to do better.
Quinn was a character I struggled with. The book alternates between Quinn and Lacie and while Quinn’s life is arguably more interesting, her voice was harder for me to believe. Quinn is thirty-five years old but comes across as Lacie’s age, if not a bit older. I understand that grief and trauma ages people, but her voice just didn’t come across right. I also struggled with Lacie’s daughter Sam who I really had little sympathy for. I liked Rachel, but I was surprised because I felt she was written as autistic-coded so the asexual reveal, while good for representation, really did come as a surprise.
One big issue with the book is that right near the end two years pass in the blink of an eye. I understand wanting to wrap things up and being realistic with some of the story moments, but considering we go from a linear plot to sudden time jumps was jarring. But I really did enjoy the ending, it was tender and made me very happy for Lacie.
All This Can Be True is a moving and heartfelt story with fully developed characters and a story that hooks you from the start. I’ll be anxious to read whatever Michalski writes next!
Publication: June 3 2025
Publisher: Keylight Books
Pages: 314 pages (PDF)
Source: The Next Best Book Club
Genre: Fiction, Queer, Romance, Contemporary
My Rating: ⛤⛤⛤.5
Summary:
When Lacie Johnson’s husband, Derek, suffers a stroke at forty-seven and falls into a coma, her plans come to a screeching halt—asking Derek for a divorce, going back to school to get her master’s, and starting over as a single woman now that their children have grown up. But what begins as a disaster brings an unexpected blessing in the form of Quinn, a kind stranger whom Lacie meets in the halls of the hospital.
This is just a stop-over for Quinn, who is traveling up to the British Columbia coast to live in a co-op of grief survivors on a remote island after the loss of her young daughter. She’s also the former singer of a post-riot grrrl band who fled the group and the public eye more than fifteen years ago for reasons unknown. Lacie thinks she’s discovered in Quinn the life and the person she’s always wanted. But Quinn harbors a secret that connects her to Derek. And if Derek wakes up, Quinn must come clean and risk destroying her growing relationship with Lacie.
Sarah O'Connor 