All That Matters (Paperback)

Jennifer feels that she has nothing to live for, her mother has suddenly died, her father, a successful Hollywood producer has new life with his trophy wife and their baby girl, and the love of her life has rejected her. After Jennifer has unsuccessfully tried to commit suicide, her doctor gives her a choice. She can remain in the hospital where her father would like her to stay, or go to New York with her grandmother. She ends up being released from the hospital into her grandmother’s care. Jennifer goes with Gabby to New York, and Gabby begins to help Jennifer heal. They take a trip to Maine, a place that Gabby took Jennifer’s mother many times as a child. During this trip, Gabby begins to share her past. Jennifer learns how Gabby was the only member of her family to survive during the Holocaust. She ended up living in a neighbour’s attic for two years before she had to flee the Nazi's again. She teaches Jennifer the joy of savouring the small moments in life because they are a gift that we, the living, get to experience each day. Gabby also shares her feelings of guilt at being the daughter who lived. As well, Gabby begins to heal her own wounds while helping her beloved granddaughter heal hers.

I have recently gone through a horrible crisis with my own family, which I thought I would never be able to deal with. The only way that I survived this major crisis in my life was because of the love and support of family and friends. This book reinforces the importance of having people who love and care about you in a time of need. I absolutely loved how Gabby teaches Jennifer to appreciate the little moments in life, because some days the little moments are all that we have to encourage us to go on until tomorrow.

This book is a wonderful read; I found myself at the end way too quickly. I am a avid reader and I have pretty high standards as to what is a really good book. It is not too often that I enjoy a book as much as this one. I was really touched by this book, as it really enforces that having people who love you is one of the major pieces in the puzzle of life.