Reaching for Beautiful: A Memoir of Loving and Losing a Wild Child

By: Sally McQuillen

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Synopsis: For fans of Joan Didion&’s The Year of Magical Thinking or David Sheff&’s Beautiful Boy, this debut memoir about a mother grieving her young-adult son&’s death is a must-read for any parent who has lost a child or whose child struggles with addiction. When Sally learns that her twenty-one-year-old son Christopher died tragically in a boat accident, her greatest fear is realized. Christopher was often drawn to risk and struggled with addiction, and in this riveting memoir, Sally captures the wild ride of his jam-packed life and her deep love for him while also reflecting on her own childhood and family legacy of alcoholism. This book is for any parent raising a child from the edge of their seat, or for those suffering the trauma of losing a child. Sally shares insights about what it&’s like to experience the emotional aftershocks of acute grief, and readers may see themselves in Sally&’s bittersweet illusion of trying to keep Christopher safe; in how she is challenged to let go of her fear, guilt, and regret in order to forgive herself; and in the ways grief teaches her about the power of love. Reaching for Beautiful is a luminous story of how love triumphs over pain, love transcends fear, and love never dies.