A Little Life
Hanya Yanagihara
Published March 10th 2015
4 out of 5

It took a year for me to prep in order to read this. A year of going into the bookstore, picking it up, putting it down, and then picking it back up. I’m not going to lie, I was scared. I kept hearing that it would absolutely destroy me. And then one of my best friends read it and said, “Michael you might not want to read this one…” But then I did it. I committed and bought the book.

While I thought the writing was absolutely stunning and I was completely captivated by the characters; I do need to warn those who are possibly thinking about reading this novel. There are a lot of really horrific moments. There are a lot of really triggering moments. If you decided to read this book please look up the content advisory! It’s a must.

In many ways this novel almost transcended fiction for me. Like I was literally trying to track Jude and Willem down on the socials. Now did I cry throughout the entire book? No. I didn’t. In fact I got through the book and despite being horrified hadn’t cried. I even began to question if I had truly become cold hearted. But then I got to the last few pages and I sobbed. It got me, the book won!

Choosing the location for this photo was a no brainer. I wanted to bring Jude and Willem (yes I do realize they are fictional characters – STOP JUDGING ME) to a place that gave me so much peace while I healed post leukemia and a bone marrow transplant. This place breathed new life into me and again even though they are fictional I can’t help but to want to bring them so much love and peace. Clearly this book left a lasting impression on me.