One Small Thing

This is my first read by this author. I found it to be engaging from the start. She writes with much insight and when I finished I felt I too had an understanding of a family who struggles with infertility and complicated choices involving family drama. The dynamics described in deciding how choices are made and the humanity of our mistakes and struggles with past lives coming to live in the present with us create an impact that makes us run or stay put. This one had a good lesson written with compassion and love.

I really loved this book and think it is Barksdale-Inclan's best yet. Avery isn't her most sympathetic heroine, although what she goes through in trying to get pregnant does make you like her, even though the way she treats Daniel after finding out about him takes away some of that sympathy. That said, the characterization of Avery is just what it should be. She is not an idealized heroine. Instead, she is very human, with many of the flaws humans can have. I thought she overreacted to Dan's past life and his decision not to tell her about it, but I understood where she was coming from and I understood why Barksdale-Inclan wrote her that way. Overall, this is a book that will keep you turning pages far into the night. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.

What an amazing book! I can't imagine not being able to have children. I know that in trying to have my 2nd child it took longer than I wanted and I was so dissappointed. I felt so sorry for Avery. The book examines this husband/wife relationship and how they cope with change. Sometimes I found myself sticking up for Avery and other times sticking up for Dan. Sometimes in an arguement with a spouse you only see your side and block out the other persons point of view. I found myself loving the idea of seeing both sides. It sure opens your eyes! Each of these characters talk to their friends and family more than each other and you just start wishing they would talk together. Then Avery starts to fall for someone else and everything is spinning out of control. All this is happening while Daniel is trying to start his new life with this family. Well, I loved it.

Jessica's newest book 'One Small Thing' explores fertility, marriage, secrets, the impact of death and estrangement from family. How people cope and struggle with various issues.Twenty-eight year old Avery wants nothing more than to conceive and have a baby but fertility problems plague her, making her dream fade into the background. She struggles with the emotions that surround her father's death when she was a young girl and her mother's often depressed/emotional state.Dan, Avery's husband has a past he has never told Avery about until he receives a phone call one day informing him his former girlfriend, Randi, has died and left a ten year old son, Daniel. Is he really Dan's son? Dan has difficulty explaining his sordid and somewhat addictive past to Avery and she in turn appears to have no feeling or compassion for Dan's situation. Dan has been estranged from his parents for years and struggles to overcome and take the first step toward a reconciliation. Avery, on the other hand, is a woman with many issues, she is short, demanding and expects and desires everything to materialize and happen immediately.Without giving away any more of the story, I will only say that my favourite character in this novel ended up being Dan, for reasons you will realize once you've read this well-written, often heartbreaking, but real life novel.Ms. Barksdale Inclan has done it again, with another powerfully written novel. THANK YOU and keep writing!!

In her new book, One Small Thing, Barksdale-Inclan explores how secrets can hurt a marriage, and how it can either break it up or make it beter. In the now familar town of Monte Veda (where her book Her Daughter's Eyes took place) Avery and Dan live a comfortable life. She is trying to get pregnant, but so far, no luck. But both of them haunted by the past: Avery with her father's death at a young age, Dan with his teenage past and being estranged from his parents. When one of their secrets come up to the light, it's up to them to determine how much the past weighs in the present. Inclan has a wonderful way desrcibing the Bay Area and how people can shed off the weight of their lives, only to not only be lighter but happier. Another winner!