Book Review: Words and Their Meanings by Kate Bassett

Anna is a creative soul whose grieving process goes beyond every therapists 7-step pamphlet. Anna’s story starts on the day that her therapists suggested would conclude the last of her grieving for her Uncle Joe which was exactly 365 days after his sudden death. Rather than having this morning be a turning point everyone handles it the same as they have been for the past months. Her grandpa tries to get Anna to go out more, her mother pretends everything is okay, her younger sister Bea hides in every crack of the house, and her father is still going through a mid-life crisis with a younger woman. As for Anna her morning routine does not falter either, she wakes up and goes into her Coffin yoga which just means she pretends to be dead for as long as she can hold her breath. Afterwards she goes through an 80’s rocker poets work, chooses a quote, and sharpies it into her hand as her daily verse. In Kate Bassett’s novel, “Words and Their Meaning” we are able to witness different perspectives and attitudes connected to grieving and sorrow.

Anna called her Unlce Joe her bruncle because when his parents died, her grandparents, he was still young and Anna’s mom raised him like a son. These two were closer than most siblings they loved and supported each other for their quirky and outlandish ways in life. A year ago Joe died and the house was left without a support. Everyone believed that Joe created the solid foundation in the family so without him they all started to drift away and come together only in hostility and frustration. Anna’s been told that she needs to let go and start writing again but nobody understands that she is still anchored into the past with guilt’s that tug her down every time she thinks she is improving.

Even though Anna doesn’t get over the fear of letting go of her past on her bruncles deadaversary she does uncover a secret that has been lying around just waiting to be opened. What she uncovers about her bruncle’s deceiving past disturbs her but also excites her because now she has this mystery that needs to be deciphered and it makes her feel as though her bruncle’s should has been transported into the present day. As Anna goes too deep into the sticky situation she is forced to let go of this romanticized image she had of her bruncle. She hit a new path of confusion like how she is supposed to hold onto someone she loved so dearly when it turns out she didn’t really know him in the first place? Soon after her anger washed over because of her new discoveries she decides to accept the bruncle she loved as a human who makes mistakes and deserves to be forgiven and now all that is left is to forgive her.

Going down a road of mystery can unravel family secrets that might have been better left folded away in an origami crane. This is an inspirational story about healing, caring, forgiving, letting go, and understanding that the past no matter how rough is a foundational stepping stone for bigger things in life rather than a haltering stop. “One memory is never the whole story. We are all made of secrets and contradictions, stardust, and possibilities.”

Rating: 7.5/10
Source: NetGalley
Publication: September 14,2014