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How to Walk Away: A Novel Paperback – July 9, 2019

by Katherine Center (Author)

4.4 9,673 ratings

Goodreads Choice Award nominee

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From the author of Happiness for Beginners comes the instant New York Times bestseller (May 2018), an unforgettable love story about finding joy even in the darkest of circumstances.

Margaret Jacobsen is just about to step into the bright future she’s worked for so hard and so long: a new dream job, a fiancé she adores, and the promise of a picture-perfect life just around the corner. Then, suddenly, on what should have been one of the happiest days of her life, everything she worked for is taken away in a brief, tumultuous moment.

In the hospital and forced to face the possibility that nothing will ever be the same again, Maggie must confront the unthinkable. First there is her fiancé, Chip, who wallows in self-pity while simultaneously expecting to be forgiven. Then, there's her sister Kit, who shows up after pulling a three-year vanishing act. Finally, there's Ian, her physical therapist, the one the nurses said was too tough for her. Ian, who won't let her give in to her pity, and who sees her like no one has seen her before. Sometimes the last thing you want is the one thing you need. Sometimes we all need someone to catch us when we fall. And sometimes love can find us in the least likely place we would ever expect.

How to Walk Away is Katherine Center at her very best―a masterpiece of a novel that is both hopeful and hilarious; truthful and wise; tender and brave.

Praise for How to Walk Away:

"Katherine Center's voice did what great fiction is meant to do: It pulled me in so immediately and completely that I forgot about real life." ―Taylor Jenkins Reid, bestselling author of Daisy Jones & the Six

"I can't think of a blurb good enough for this novel...poignant, funny, heartbreaking." ―Jenny Lawson, bestselling author of Furiously Happy

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Popular Highlights in this book

What are popular highlights?

“It’s the trying that heals you. That’s all you have to do. Just try.”
Highlighted by 1,806 Kindle readers
The greater our capacity for sorrow becomes, the greater our capacity for joy.
Highlighted by 1,518 Kindle readers
When you don’t know what to do for yourself, do something for somebody else.
Highlighted by 884 Kindle readers

Editorial Reviews

Review

Praise for How to Walk Away:

An instant New York Times bestseller (May 2018)!

"This generous story about family secrets, love in sickness and in health, and the resilience of the human spirit has serious Nora Ephron vibes." ―Taylor Jenkins Reid, bestselling author of Daisy Jones & The Six

"A marvelous example of acceptance and healing and a celebration of family." ―USA Today

"Center explores the limits of hope and love...[she] transforms the story of a family tragedy into a heartfelt guide to living the fullest life possible." ―Publisher's Weekly

"With its appealing characters and wisdom about grappling with life’s challenges, Center’s sixth novel has all the makings of a breakout hit." ―Booklist (starred review)

“Inspiring and romantic… A touching and truthful novel that shows how people can find comfort in the most unexpected places.” ―Library Journal

"A story about survival that is heartbreakingly honest and wryly funny, perfect for fans of Jojo Moyes and Elizabeth Berg." ―Kirkus

"A heartbreak of a novel that celebrates resilience and strength." ―Jill Santopolo, bestselling author of The Light We Lost

"If you just read one book this year, read How to Walk Away." ―Nina George, New York Times bestselling author of The Little Paris Bookshop

"Warm, witty, and wonderfully observed." ―Emily Giffin, New York Times bestselling author of First Comes Love

"Sympathetic and refreshing!" ―Elinor Lipman, bestselling author of The Family Man

"I can't think of a blurb good enough for this novel...poignant, funny, heartbreaking." ―Jenny Lawson, bestselling author of Furiously Happy

About the Author

BookPage calls Katherine Center “the reigning queen of comfort reads.” She’s the New York Times bestselling author of over half a dozen books, including How to Walk Away, Things You Save in a Fire, and What You Wish For. Katherine writes laugh-and-cry books about how life knocks us down―and how we get back up. She’s been compared to both Jane Austen and Nora Ephron, and the Dallas Morning News calls her stories, “satisfying in the most soul-nourishing way.” Her books have made countless Best-Of lists, including RealSimple’s Best Books of 2020, Amazon's Top 100 Books of 2019, Goodreads' Best Books of the Year, and many more. Bestselling author Emily Henry calls her summer 2022 book, The Bodyguard, “a shot of pure joy.” The movie adaptation of Katherine’s novel The Lost Husband (starring Josh Duhamel) hit #1 on Netflix, and her novel Happiness for Beginners is in production now as a Netflix original starring Ellie Kemper. Katherine lives in her hometown of Houston, Texas, with her husband, two kids, and their fluffy-but-fierce dog.

Product details

Publisher ‏ : ‎ St. Martin's Griffin; Reprint edition (July 9, 2019)
Language ‏ : ‎ English
Paperback ‏ : ‎ 368 pages
ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 1250047315
ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1250047311
Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 11.2 ounces
Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 5.33 x 0.96 x 8.42 inches

Best Sellers Rank: #13,905 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #820 in Women's Domestic Life Fiction
- #845 in Contemporary Women Fiction
- #1,499 in Romantic Comedy (Books)

Customer Reviews:
4.4 9,673 ratings

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Katherine Center

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BookPage calls Katherine Center “the reigning queen of comfort reads.” She’s the New York Times bestselling author of ten novels, including How to Walk Away, Things You Save in a Fire, The Bodyguard, and her newest, Hello Stranger. Katherine writes laugh-and-cry books about how life knocks us down—and how we get back up. She’s been compared to both Jane Austen and Nora Ephron, and the Dallas Morning News calls her stories, “satisfying in the most soul-nourishing way.” The movie adaptation of her novel The Lost Husband (starring Josh Duhamel) hit #1 on Netflix, and the movie of her novel Happiness for Beginners, starring Ellie Kemper and Luke Grimes, opens July 27 on Netflix. Katherine’s summer 2022 book, The Bodyguard, was an instant New York Times bestseller, a People Best New Books pick, and nominated for Book of the Year by Book of the Month Club. Bestselling author Emily Henry calls The Bodyguard “a shot of pure joy,” and bestselling author Helen Hoang calls it “a perfect feel-good rom-com.” Katherine lives in her hometown of Houston, Texas, with her husband, two kids, and their fluffy-but-fierce dog.

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9,673 global ratings

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HC

omg!!!

Reviewed in the United States on April 15, 2024

Verified Purchase

This book was a blind read for me, I saw it recommended on TikTok, and decided to take a chance since I wanted something “light”… it was anything but! It pulled at my heart strings in so many ways, made me think, made me feel, it was perfectly written and I absolutely loved it! This is a MUST READ for EVERYONE. It will open your mind to the meaning of life and show you just how precious it is, no matter what obstacles we face.

One person found this helpful

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The Reading Chick

A tragic, uplifting story!

Reviewed in the United States on March 10, 2023

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First of all, wow. At first I had a really hard time reading Margaret’s story. What happened was so brutal and her boyfriend/fiancé was an absolute turd. Her mother seemed to be a controlling nightmare too and I was ready to give up-but then her sister Kit showed up and the sisterly support propped me up until I saw beyond everyone else’s issues and Margaret’s strength became the heart of the story. Kit was a godsend, not just to poor Margaret, but also me who was looking for something to love about this story that was so hard to read. Don’t get me wrong, it was well written, but it was also pretty brutal. Kit added some much needed humor. Then there was Ian- he seemed to be a bit of a jerk, but underneath that gruff exterior he was solid gold.

This story had so much strength and heart. Yes, it was sometimes hard to read but each page I turned showed a different side to this kind of crazy family that I started to look forward to seeing what else was going to be revealed. This family had skeletons, hard feelings, and lots and lots of love. Family drama at its best.

The one thing I was slightly disappointed in was the love story aspect between Ian and Margaret. Ian was pretty closed off for most of the book and I just wish that the reader could’ve made a bigger connection with him. I loved him for Margaret (I can still hear him calling her Maggie in his Scottish accent), but the ending would’ve had a greater impact if I liked him as much as I did Margaret. Although, it was humdinger of an ending.

4 people found this helpful

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Kindle Customer

Beautiful

Reviewed in the United States on April 14, 2024

Verified Purchase

Trust me, you will
not want to walk away from this story! So touching!!
Funny, sweet and inspiring. I don't know how she does it!

One person found this helpful

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Elizabeth

amazing!

Reviewed in the United States on April 3, 2024

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Such a great story! The theme of the story touched my heart! I love the way the author writes and builds each character.

Reviewed in the United States on March 31, 2024

Verified Purchase

Good book, there were moments that bored me to tears but other moments that I needed MORE. This book wasn’t too serious, just scratched the emotional surface. It was enough.

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Bpayne

Interesting but dragged a bit for me.

Reviewed in the United States on February 8, 2024

Verified Purchase

This book quickly grabbed my attention but honestly fizzled towards the end for me. I wasn't fully convinced of the romance between the main character and her PT. I enjoyed his character but something felt off about it. I felt that there was missed opportunities for relationship growth. Overall rating a 3.5, I did enjoy the authors writing and excited to read more.

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Momofcal

Wonderful story about loss and love.

Reviewed in the United States on April 3, 2024

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Great book about fighting to get better through pain and heartache. So a heartwarming story. I love the characters in the book. It’s about never giving up.

Reviewed in the United States on March 29, 2024

Verified Purchase

Do you have an author that you say is a favorite author, but then you realize you haven’t read all their books? That is me with the exquisite Katherine Center. You must have read all of their books to be called a favorite, right? What if their backlist isn’t that good?? #1 this year I’m doing something about it and #2 I have found that here is no need to worry about the quality of her past books.

As a part of #backlistbooks24, I chose to read How to Walk Away by Katherine Center, which was written back in 2018. It is divine. It is deep. It can be dark. It is funny. It is touching. It is perfect. I went into it so incredibly blind, like pitch black, and I was SHOCKED at where we went in this book. It is not a light rom-com but even if those are what you lean towards (like me), you won’t care. It is a beautiful book.

I hesitate to give any hints. I did not read the summary, blurbs, or reviews and I really liked it that way. I will only say, pick this book up to join Margaret Rosemary Jacobson on a JOURNEY.

At the end there is a short story read by Katherine Center that feels like a bonus. Both this book and the bonus are linked to Things You Save in a Fire. I already read that book and I can confirm that reading them in either order is fine, although you may as well do it in the “correct” order, IMO.

Thérèse Plummer is a superstar narrator and I’m so thrilled to be seeing more of her, recently in Love, Theoretically and Bride. I recommend How to Walk Away on audio because Plummer is fantastic, but you have to also get it in kindle because there will be so many quotes you will want to highlight and keep forever.

5/5 stars
Closed door
11 hours 28 minutes on audio
Locations: Austin, Texas and Brugge, Belgium

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Top reviews from other countries

centpourcent

An extremely satisfying read

Reviewed in France on December 7, 2021

Verified Purchase

I highly recommend this book. It’s a great pick-me-up, and full of wit and sage advice. Congratulations to the author—I can’t wait to see this book transformed into a script for the big screen.

Susan's Reviews

Parts hilarious, parts heartwrenching, you will love this story and gutsy heroine!

Reviewed in Canada on March 6, 2019

Verified Purchase

Katherine Center just gets better and better. I loved Happiness for Beginners, and thought there was no way she could top it. Well, she equaled it, but she went in a different direction this time: Maggie, the heroine in this story, has to fight her way back, physically and emotionally, after a crippling accident. Her perfect body and life were destroyed in the rubble of a plane crash. As Maggie slowly starts to heal from her injuries, she learns to make life choices that will make her happy, as opposed to fitting in with the expectations of her family or boyfriend. Maggie often made me laugh, but you never doubted that Maggie was going through her own personal hell. There is a ring of truth to this story. Center always makes me wonder if she has actually personally experienced the events in her novels - the descriptions and the emotions seem so vivid and real. Highly recommended!

5 people found this helpful

read-along-with-sue

Fabulous

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on March 8, 2020

Verified Purchase

I don’t think I’ve given a 5* rating this year yet (2020) so here it is!
I was so invested in this story. I’m glad I became a part of Books and Jams reading group. This was the monthly pick by book tuber Krista. I loved it.

It brought out every emotion you could ever think of feeling.

It’s good that this didn’t have quite the ending you would be rooting for. Not in a nasty way, but realistic human life events way. Not everything is tied up in ribbons and bows......yet......the ending was just as fulfilling as any great climax of events.

All of these characters lived inside my head for as long as I read it, and, I’m sure beyond time. A book with a punch, a book with meaning and certainly a book full of hope.

Just once in a while you get a book that gives you all of the tingles.

I’m certainly going to send for her other book lots rave about.

Loved it!

Some think for such a tragic thing that’s happened the author has made certain aspects too jovial.

My dad lost his leg, it was amputated after a tragic accident. Over 30 years ago now! And it WAS tragic and life changing for us all. The medics said he needed support and positivity. Each of us had a role to play. He reached suicidal point as this character does in the story. She gave herself a year.
Within a year things change, people change, circumstances change and the disabled person minds change along with those whose also had to adapt around them. What I’m saying is, doom and gloom helped no one. The IMMEDIATE effect is doom, it’s gloom, it’s the pits. But sooner or later you learn life goes on, but in a different way. Like traffic being diverted, the person and family and friends go down the diverted path of life.

I thought the author showed a good positive side to this.

So I hope no one minds....
I thought I’d share our experience with you

2 people found this helpful

bookedout.de

Such a honest story

Reviewed in Germany on October 8, 2018

Verified Purchase

I enjoyed reading this book a lot and finished it within a few days only. The author is really good at creating believable (and very distinguishable) characters that bring the story to life. Even though most of the story was set in the hospital, so basically in a rather static environment, the book never got boring and had some nice twists. Yes, some parts were foreseeable, but I think life is equally foreseeable so it didn't disturb me.
I especially liked the end, because it made the story so real. (No spoilers - read the book to find out what I mean! ;) )
I can absolutely recommend it!