Death of a loved person. Partner,parent or child. Probably nothing worse can hit one person or family. It feels like your heart is ripped out. You are empty, hanging on a thread. How does it feel when the ghost of your dead child haunts you and the loss threatens to tear your family apart? Lydia seemed to be a happy teenager. Always smiling, honorable and hard-working. Straight A's on every test. A future doctor. One day her parents wake up to the sight of her body floating in a lake. Why would such a happy and bright girl try to kill herself? No one knew. Everyone thought they knew her but no one saw how much she really suffered. Being a Chinese-American on the streets of America in the '80s was like being an unicorn. She seemed exotic and different. Everyone stared at her like she was about to fall apart right before their eyes. Lydia was never accepted or loved by her classmates. One day after her mother ran away she promised herself that she would do anything to please her just so they could be a family again. Pretend she has friends? Yes. Ace every test and study everynight? Yes. Study medicine? Yes. Be dependable and obedient? Yes. Anything her mother and father asked of her. Anything so they could be one family again. But one of the most important things in life she lacked. Happiness. She always forced herself to please everyone that she forgot the one person she had to please was herself. Work for herself. Study for herself. Do things for herself out of pure joy and curiosity. She never knew how much hollow and empty she was. She did not feel like herself. As she traced the source of her problems she let herself free but what will happen with her family? Will they be able to find happines and light despite of the recent events? This book evoke "Thirteen Reasons Why" feelings in me. Probably because both Lydia and Hannah had similar struggles and ended their pain in a similar way. I deeply emphatized with Lydia. Being forced to live a life that it is not yours is nothing but a burden. Always trying to please everyone will bring you nothing but stress, wrinkles and mental health issues. Forcing yourself to be something that others want you to be never ended in a good way. Everyone should be able to lead the lives they want. Have friends or no friends. Go or not go out. Have a partner or no partner. Be able to pursue their own careers and follow their own dreams. There is nothing more appealing in a person than the courage to stand up for themselves or fight for what they believe in. Although Lydia only tried to save her family and keep everything intact is in fact the thing that tore them apart. Forcing yourself to be someone's paper clip might end up in you being scissors to their paper. Communicate. Discuss. Some things cannot be left out or not spoken of. Being in an open relationship might not only save that relationship but one person's life. Learn from Lydia's mistakes as I have. More about Celeste's work and life: https://www.celesteng.com/ "Everything I Never Told You" on Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/18693763-everything-i-never-told-you
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