October 16, 2017
Beyond Believing Book Review
Beyond Believing is a sweet, funny and romantic story that touches the heart, serves up delicious twists and turns, and shows the reader that there’s no such thing as “coincidence.” Author D.D Marx regards this book as her love letter to friendship.
About Beyond Believing
When Olivia gets news of her best friend Dan’s fatal car accident, her entire life is upended. Shattered with grief and struggling to find any meaning or purpose to life, she trudges along with a gaping void in her heart. Finally, when her frustration reaches its peak, Olivia decides to trust Dan’s eternal friendship. That trust allows him to break through to her from the beyond, and Dan guides Olivia through the twists and turns of her life into something new and entirely unexpected.
When Olivia exposes a gigantic internal scandal at work, her career implodes. With no job and no one to turn to, she escapes to Palm Springs for the sympathy and care of her beloved cousin, Garrett. He isn’t quite the comfort Olivia hoped for, but on that journey, meets someone who fills the void in her heart. She’s never experienced such a deep love. It heals her soul and rekindles her spirit – and just may have been the design of her dearly departed friend all along.
My Thoughts
I fell in love with this first book in the Beyond series. In this book we are introduced to Olivia and her past with her best friend Dan. I would say about the first half of the book is a look at their history and friendship and really helps to give a good insight into their history, their closeness and how his death affects her. The second half sets her story really into motion – a new career, losing her job and then moving to a new State.
Losing anyone is difficult no matter what. Losing your best friend, the one who knows so much about you, finishes your sentences and completes parts of you can be difficult to recover from. We watch Olivia struggle through his death and come to terms with a future without him there. I loved how she looks for signs that he is still with her and helping her make decisions. I know that sometimes when I see something that reminds me of someone I lost, it always seems to come at that perfect moment when I feel alone, scared and confused.
This is what that book explores – loss, hope, faith and friendship. Friendship can cross all boundaries and I truly believe the ones we have lost are still with us, looking out for us and working to protect us. This book is well written with an excellent plot line that keeps you reading long into the night. I felt close to Olivia, as though she was a good friend that you wanted to comfort and give a big hug to. This is a definite must read novel!
You can purchase a copy of this book on Amazon and Barnes & Noble.
Rating: 5/5
About the Author
D.D. marx came barreling into this world with the “gift of gab”. Her parents quickly identified a pattern forming when each teacher conference contained the words “she’s a little too social”. d.d.’s biggest life concern was identifying which boy she’d be chasing at recess rather than mastering math problems. She parlayed this gift into creating play dates on the playground. If friendship were a business, she would be a millionaire. She prides her life on maintaining friends from every walk of life in every corner of the country. This is the fuel that fills her tank.
Graduating with a Communication degree from the University of Dayton, she attempted to break into the world of Public Relations but was instead side-tracked with a J.O.B. At the strong encouragement of her friends and family, who dubbed her a “funny story teller”, she stretched her comfort zone by entering the Second City program in Chicago where her itch for entertainment was finally scratched. Determined to share her story and create a legacy, she decided to combine these talents and become a writer. She returned to her alma-mater to immerse herself in a 3-day writing course where this dream finally came to life. Asked to imagine if she was a super-hero, her task was to dig-deep to describe her special powers. Based on the real-life tragedy of one of her best friends, that answer came without hesitation. All she’s ever wanted was the power to visit with him one last time. This is the inspiration that catapulted her into her debut project titled, the Beyond Series. She dove into a world imagining that he never left.
Book Trailer
The Giveaway!
Disclosure: I received a digital copy of this book in order to facilitate this review. All opinions expressed are my own.
