Newswoman Sheila Hamilton didn’t know David Krol all that
well when they married- they were married and she was pregnant within a year of
meeting- but many couples commit to each other that rapidly. So it’s not like
she knew nothing about him when she committed her life to his. And it was
several years into the marriage before she realized David had something wrong
with him. She felt he had quirks, but she trusted him. He was running his
construction business while she was doing first TV and then radio news and they
had a young child; she didn’t have time to dwell on his mental oddness until it
got bad. And even when things go bad, she still didn’t think of it in terms of mental
illness; she thought he was just being a jackass. His family made no mention of
mental illness (even though Sheila was to find out that other family members
had issues, too).
The book follows David and Sheila’s relationship from happy
newlyweds to strangers living in the same house, ready to divorce. During that
time, David ran up hundreds of thousands of dollars in debt, didn’t do necessary
business paperwork, didn’t finish jobs which meant the homeowners refused any
payment, and was unfaithful. Through it all, though, he remained devoted to
their daughter, who was nine when David killed himself. He tried hard- although
he failed most of the time- to be a good father to her.
That David was eventually diagnosed with bipolar disorder
and that he committed suicide is no secret; it’s right on the book cover.
Despite knowing this, I read the story tensely and breathlessly; I couldn’t
avoid hoping for a happy ending even though I knew better. Hamilton’s writing
drew me in and made me feel what she felt during this horror story. An amazing
book.
The above is an affiliate link. If you click through and buy something- anything- Amazon will give me a few cents.
I received this book free from the Amazon Vine program in return for an honest review.
Neither of these things influenced my review.
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