Forever, Interrupted by Taylor Jenkins Reid tells the story of the supernova relationship of Ben, a graphic designer, and Elsie, a librarian.

They meet by chance on New Years Day at a pizzeria after Elsie decides to go and collect hers rather than having it delivered and this meeting determines their lives for the next 6 months. They have a whirlwind romance and elope in May, without his Mum or her parents in attendance. Nine days after they marry, Ben dies after a collision with a car whilst cycling to the store to get Elsie her favourite cereal.

The narrative alternates between the before and the after, over a period of one year, tackling head on the grieving and healing of Elsie, with the support of her best friend Ana, and Susan, the mother in law she never met until after Ben's death. 

I am not normally a fan of books which have duelling timelines but for this story it worked and I was able to follow it through.  

I owned a copy of this book and listened to it on Borrowbox. I read this for prompt "Be Mine, Valentine" for the 52 Book Club mini challenge February 2024. 

Title: Forever, Interrupted
Author: Taylor Jenkins Reid
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Rating: 4.25
Pub Date: July 9, 2013

T H R E E • W O R D S

Touching • Authentic • Distinctive

📖 S Y N O P S I S

Elsie and Ben are average twenty-somethings, but this is not your average love story. It begins bright and promising: the newlywed couple is head over heels in love, having eloped six months after they met. But it all shatters in an instant; Ben out riding his bike, is hit by a truck—and dies on impact.

Elsie hears the sirens outside her apartment, but by the time she gets downstairs, his body has already been taken to the hospital. When she arrives, Elsie is greeted by an unexpected visitor—her mother-in-law, Susan, whom she has never met and who doesn’t even know she exists.

Both are seared with grief; Susan is still mourning the death of her own husband several years earlier, and the loss of her only son is almost too much to bear. The two women immediately sour on one another, fighting over what to do with Ben’s belongings and how to fulfill his wishes. But as time goes by, Susan and Elsie both realize that despite the terrible accident that brought them together, they are now the only family they have left.

💭 T H O U G H T S

Having read, and loved, several of Taylor Jenkins Reid's newer releases in 2022, I immediately knew I wanted to tackle her entire backlist. Forever, Interrupted (her debut) was the backlist title that piqued my interest the most given Elsie and I's shared experience of having a partner die suddenly. For that reason, I knew this book would likely destroy me emotionally, and of course, it did.

In this novel, TJR approaches love in such an unconventional manner, while also exploring grief and healing with gentleness and subtlety. Done seamlessly, the dual timelines help guide the story at the perfect pace. The characters are real, and I came to love them as the flawed humans they are. And I can certainly vouch to the fact that the evolution of Elsie and Susan's relationship felt like an accurate representation of the messiness that is grief. The bonds one forms when going through the most awful of situations can come from the most unlikely of places. It is no secret that the people you expect to show up are often the ones who disappear, and the people who show up can be the least expected.

One small thing I also loved was the fact Elsie was a librarian. This simple little tidbit brought the book even closer to my heart given my own love of books and libraries. They say sometimes books come into your life at the right time, and I think this was a beautiful reminder of that for me.

Despite this being an incredibly emotional book on a personal level for me, the writing itself lacked the emotional depth and rawness I've come to expect from TJR. Of course, it's important to keep in mind this is her debut novel, and she her craft has likely evolved since.

A genuine portrayal of love in all its forms, Forever, Interrupted really gets to the heart of human relationships. While ultimately a tragic story, the message of happiness coming in all kinds of different shapes and sizes breathes an air of hope. This is a story I will never forget, and a reminder that the people who come into our lives, end up shaping our journeys no matter the length of time their physically present.

📚 R E C O M M E N D • T O
• TJR devotees
• anyone looking for atypical romance
• readers who enjoyed Come Away With Me

🔖 F A V O U R I T E • Q U O T E S

"'Listen to me; it means nothing. You think that some ten minutes you spent with ben in a room defines what you meant to each other? It doesn't. You define that. What you feel defines that. You loved him. He loved you. You believed in each other. That is what you lost. It doesn't matter whether it's labelled a husband or a boyfriend. You lost the person you love. You lost the future you thought you had.'"

"Love is love is love. When you lose it, it feels like the shittiest disaster in the world. Just like dog shit." 

i love you, ben ross

this book broke my heart. i really liked the complex exploration of grief. taylor jenkins reid remains my favourite author. i’ve read all of her books except After I Do and im so excited to read it!

Daisy Jones and the Six has been my favourite book pretty much ever since it came out and I'm just now getting around to reading more of her backlist. I'm definitely not as interested/not as much the target audience for her women's fiction as her "famous people" books but thought I'd give them all a try. I admit I wasn't that much into the subject matter of this one - newly married Elsie who unexpectedly finds herself grieving her new husband. I wish the book had given more time with Ben before he was killed because maybe I would have been more attached to him. The book alternates between Elsie's grieving and the budding romance between Ben and Elsie leading up to Ben's death. It really is the best version of flashbacks and present day I’ve ever read because each flashback is directly related to something happening in the present day. This book isn't really romantic, but it is entirely about love: platonic and romantic, lost and found, the kind you're looking for and the kind you aren't. 

I wasn't particularly attached to any of the characters, and yet, TJR is so stunningly good at making you feel like you could be a part of somebody's world. She's one of few authors I have read that write character and subject matter so well that you legitimately wonder if they have a real life experience or relation to it. Grief is a really relatable feeling for everybody, but it definitely got a little repetitive and boring for the main character. I did like the journey that Elsie went on in her grieving and it was really realistic.