Out of the Darkness by Katy Hogan

A heart-warming and life affirming book that will break your heart and at the same time heal it

 Every now and again a book lands on my desk that just after the first few pages will make me sit up and take notice. When I was asked if I would like to review Out of the Darkness by Katy Hogan I had already heard that readers were liking what they had just read. What I was not ready for was the impact it had on me.

What Katy Hogan has written here is a story about three women Jessica, Alex and Hannah who are suffering the loss of a loved one and how they deal with the grief and in turn how it affects everyone around them.

Jessica is devastated by the death of her beloved mum and best friend and struggles with the daily reality that she is no longer there. We find Jessica going to her mother’s house to start the process of packing up he mum’s possessions which proves to be so very painful every item holds a memory whether it is a hairbrush or her mums perfume that’s makes her feel her presence.

As Jessica is in no mood to celebrate at a New Year’s party, but ends up being taken along and meets Finn. Sometimes something that seems so right at that moment in reality never is. She never sees Finn again. Despite trying to make contact.

Jessica meets Alex and Hannah after a grief counselling session after Jessica is taken ill and what happens from here to the three women as they form a friendship is just so beautiful.

Not long after Alex has moved to a new home in Brighton she believes the house is haunted. Despites Jessica not really believing in the physic world of mediums the three women go along to a meet for the first time and with each of the women having their own reason for going despite Jessica entering with misgivings. The end result is three women how have found each other all of them carry secrets and how they help each other through bad times in their lives.

A story about loss and grief and in turn how we all deal with this in our lives, it is story about friendships and how important they can be in the healing process. Some people try to deal with grief alone and in isolation but realising that you are not alone and there is support there. It is a message of hope not just entirely for the reader but for all of us. A book that will make you think about your own life and beyond.

Katy Hogan writes with such beauty here and each chapter is relatively short which makes the story even more compulsive reading. Written with a great deal of sensitivity. Despite the storyline there is humour that is captured so well. The affinity you will form with each of the women is down purely to how beautifully Hogan writes. Hard to imagine that Out of the Darkness is Katy Hogan’s first novel.

Do not be put off by the idea that here is another book about loss and grief this is wonderful story about love just as much as it is loss and grief and how we handle this moment in our lives may be like me you will feel Katy Hogan is taking you on a journey of self-discovery and a healing process at the same time.

Thank you to the author Katy Hogan for a review copy.

Out of the Darkness written by Katy Hogan and published by Illumine and is available now.