Three books that will make you cry

A good cry can be therapeutic. Sometimes you don’t know you needed it till you end up bawling your eyes out. I find myself unburdened whenever I cry. It’s like a load is lifted off my heart. But I’m not someone who cries easily so whenever a book makes me cry it immediately makes it to my favorites list. 

One of the reasons why I love sad books is because they make me feel these emotions that I perhaps wouldn’t otherwise. I know it might sound silly to some of you but a whirlpool of mixed feelings can actually give you a fresh new perspective in life. So, grab some tissues and settle in for the weekend because the books I’m recommending this week will break your heart into a million little pieces. 

A Little Life by Hanya Yanagihara

This book made me sob—in private, and in public. I might not have actually sobbed in public but I did cry at work because I couldn’t reign in my emotions. It’s a book I wouldn’t recommend to anyone (and I actually mean that in a good way) because it wrecks you. Critics have called ‘A Little Life’ ‘a tour de force’, and ‘a masterwork,’. When it was published in 2015, it was discussed as the most ambitious chronicle of the social and emotional lives of gay men. It’s Yanagihara’s second novel and it chronicles the lives of four college friends and how their friendship evolves over the years. You meet JB, who is an artist; Malcolm, an architect; Willem, an actor; and Jude who is a lawyer. They become your friends and you just get so invested in their lives that you are unable to put the thick volume down. The way the plot sucks you in speaks volumes about the writer’s talent. It’s a book that will stay in your mind long after you have finished it. 

We All Want Impossible Things by Catherine Newman

‘We All Want Impossible Things’ is essentially a book about death. But the story has a touch of humor that makes you laugh through your tears. Newman talks about death without making it seem like a dark, ominous presence. Despite a painful backdrop, it’s a cozy and comforting read. The story is about two childhood friends Edith and Ashley as they grapple with the former’s cancer prognosis. Edi and Ash have shared everything. They have seen each other through heartbreaks, family issues, marriages, divorce, childbirth among other gazillion issues of life. They complete each other. But now things are changing and neither of them is ready for it. Newman’s debut adult novel will make you cry and want to hug everybody close to you. It’s a slim volume but you will want to take your time and savor the story and the brilliantly crafted characters. There’s also a lot to unpack here. I found myself putting the book down to take in what I had read and think things through. 

Maybe Next Time by Cesca Major 

You get a strong sense of how the story ends right from the beginning even though nothing is given away that early or even more than halfway through the book. But ‘Maybe Next Time’ by Cesca Major keeps you hooked because of its gorgeous writing and plot. It’s a wonderful story about second chances and prioritizing what you value in life before it’s too late that made me cry at the very end. I thought I wouldn’t but I did. I could see what was coming and even though it was expected, I wasn’t prepared for it. The story is about a literary agent named Emma Jacobs who finds herself stuck in a time loop. The same day keeps repeating itself but the outcome is always the same. Will she be able to fix her mistake so she can save the one she loves? The element of magical realism keeps things interesting and the protagonist is so well crafted that her problems become your problems, and you want to be able to fix them all.