Falling Apart and Other Gifts from the Universe

FALLING APART AND OTHER GIFTS FROM THE UNIVERSE by New York Times best-selling author Catherine Ryan Hyde offers a story of found family. It centers on Addie, a former soldier and law enforcement official who has been sober for close to eight years but still struggles with finding a purpose in her life. That changes when (while working as a night security guard) she meets Jonathan, a young homeless man who is squatting at an abandoned warehouse. This is a powerful book with both Addie and Jonathan dealing with trauma and eventually finding solace in the grandmother-grandson type relationship they form. As their journeys progress, Hyde forces her readers to consider their own prejudices, especially regarding addicts, mental health, and the unhoused. A couple of key insights: “Resistance is always a red flag. When you resist going somewhere, you know it's a place you need to go.” And “You can waste your whole damn life sitting in your room waiting to feel like you can do better. But the actions change the feelings, not the other way around.”