Love: A Novel of Grief & Desire by Jefferson R. Blackburn-Smith
What's It About?
A story that explores the intricacies of grief and love following Ed Gideon, who takes in 15-year-old Bobbi Love, the daughter of the drunk driver that killed his wife.What kind of life can you expect to live after the love of your life is taken from you so violently? What would you do if faced with their killer? How could you possibly move on and love again?
Jefferson R. Blackburn-Smith explores those very questions in his latest novel, Love: A Novel of Grief & Desire (Black Rose Writing). Following the unfortunate collision of two families, the story investigates the intricacies of grief, love and the life we expect to follow loss.
Grief & Desire
Two years after the death of his wife, Ed Gideon is faced with her killer — but it isn’t anything like he imagined. Andie Love, the drunk driver who hit their car two years ago, lies in a coma after intentionally overdosing, leaving her 15-year-old daughter, Bobbi, alone. Reminded of how his own adult daughters grieved for their mother, Ed decides to take Bobbi in to avoid letting her fall back into foster care where she’d be unable to visit her dying mother.
Meanwhile, Ed begins to fall in love with two very different women. He never thought he’d date again after losing Lisa — let alone fall in love — yet he finds himself so attracted to these women and he doesn’t know who to choose. It doesn’t help matters when one of them confesses her secret connection to his dead wife.
As his dating life takes off, Ed and Bobbi grow closer at home. But having Bobbi in the house causes tension between Ed and his daughters, one of whom is holding a secret of her own. Plus, what’s Ed supposed to do with Bobbi once Andie dies — if she dies? Ed must battle the hate he feels for Andie with the love and compassion he feels for Bobbi, all the while hearing his wife’s voice guiding his decisions.
He will never forget what happened — but can he forgive? Can he let go of his hate and move on with his life? Can he truly love again?
Complex Characters
While the story is mostly told through Ed’s point of view, we get to look through most of the other characters’ eyes at some point. There are some sections from the daughters’ — Sandy and Becca’s — perspectives, as well as a few moments from Bobbi and quite a few sections from Andie’s point of view (one even while comatose).
This combination of voices gives the story a deeper level of emotion as readers can see how one character’s actions directly affect another. We get to witness the car crash that killed Lisa from Ed’s perspective as well as Andie’s. We feel how isolated and hurt Becca feels dealing with the loss of her mother and hiding her sexuality. We understand why Bobbi is so angry with her mom, who often left her emotionally and physically abandoned.
Jefferson’s characters are not only so different and individual from one another, but also complex with a wide range of conflicting emotions. Bobbi’s love and hate for her mom, Ed’s desire and guilt, Becca’s confidence and confusion, Andie’s anger and fear. Real people don’t always have their emotions lined up perfectly, and that’s what makes these characters feel so real.
Touching Story
Part of what I found so compelling about this book was the complex moral dilemma Ed found himself in. He had every right to hate Andie. Heck, no one liked Andie — not even herself!
For a majority of the book, Bobbi hates her mom too — at least that’s what she tells herself. Bobbi states she wishes her mom had just died rather than leave others to suffer. Yet despite cursing her existence, deep down, Bobbi loves her mom and can’t let her go. Ed sees that and struggles with his growing love for Bobbi and his long-held hate for Andie.
In the end, he finds his anger has all but withered away into nothing. In the beginning of the book, that hatred had kept him sustained for a long time — to lose that would leave behind all sorts of feelings of guilt and emptiness. I can’t imagine it.
Jefferson’s portrayal of these complex emotions is breathtaking, his story insightful and moving. You might shed a tear or two, but the end will definitely leave your spirit lifted and hopeful.
About Jefferson R. Blackburn-Smith:
Jefferson was raised in rural Ohio, the second of four boys. The original free-range children, Jefferson and his brothers spent their time hunting and fishing and exploring the countryside around them and are still surprised they all survived into adulthood.
Jefferson currently serves as the Vice President of Enrollment Management and Marketing at Otterbein University, a private university in Westerville, Ohio. Previously, Jefferson taught college composition, worked as a telemarketer, a sales manager, a construction superintendent and a vice president of marketing. He and his wife Denise have three grown children.
