A Man Called Ove
Fredrik Backman
So often a big part of my job at hospice is helping people realize their purpose and set goals. When someone can no longer work or possibly leave their home, they might feel useless and a burden to family and friends. By listening and encouraging them to share their story, a new purpose for living can be found and new goals can give life added meaning.
Ove is a man who feels like his life has no meaning. And on the surface, Ove is easy to dislike. He is a grumpy man who wants to be left alone. Everything in his life must be just so and when we meet him things are not right in his life, and he cannot imagine they will/can ever be right again. I hope you’ll join Ove on his journey through grief, finding a new purpose (even if he doesn’t want one), and love. It is a two tissue book. (My Mom and I agree on that).
“One finds a way of living for the sake of someone else’s future. And it wasn’t as if Ove also died when Sonja left him. He just stopped living. Grief is a strange thing” (326).
Warning-due to the themes in this book, if you are actively grieving the death of a loved one, this may not be the right book for you at this time. Instead I would recommend The Curious Charms of Arthur Pepper which also explores themes of grief only in a more lighthearted way.
