Words can’t express how much I loved this book!!! Bookends: A Memoir of Love, Loss, and Literature is the story of Zibby’s life and I can’t even begin to tell you how powerful her story is! Zibby Owens has always been one of my personal heroes and hearing how she rewrote her story was such a transformative and deeply moving experience for me.

As someone who has also rewritten her story, and has found lifesaving solace in books to the point that I now also spend my days sharing the books I love, I related to so many aspects of Zibby’s journey. There were so many moments that I had either chills or tears in my eyes while reading this, and I now feel like I may need to pay Zibby for this very powerful therapy session.

Zibby Owens has created a book empire and I am so in awe of her creative, enduring, and powerful spirit. And I can’t wait to see what she does next! This is her fight song. And she’s absolutely winning this fight.

Bookends, by Zibby Owens, is a memoir sharing all the things that shaped her into who she is today. Frequent references are made to books that most of us have read, and her thought process as she moves through her life story, caused me to take a few pauses and reflect on my own. Thanks, NetGalley and the publisher, for providing me with an ARC in exchange for my honest opinion.

No question the death of a best friend, under any circumstances -- let alone in the Twin Towers on 9/11 -- is a devastating loss and certainly a formative trauma in a young adult’s life. In Bookends: A Memoir of Love, Loss and Literature, Zibby Owens recounts her grief over her friend Stacey, as well as other significant heartaches that seemed to come like dominoes.

But there’s one momentous something missing – a veritable elephant in the room – as the author recollects her life in a “ridiculously large four-story town house in the heart of Manhattan.” Owens bookends her first marriage in two throwaways: Chapter 13’s “In the middle of all this, I had met someone and recently gotten married” and Chapter 27’s “At close to forty, married and divorced…” The statements stand as parentheses to something that’s apparently unmentionable.

Considering the author’s detailed recollection of other relationships and social events (a millennium party in London, a birthday party in Palm Beach), including her engagement, bridal shower, and wedding to her second husband, it’s hard to reconcile the omission of a ten-year marriage that produced four children. Owens recounts lots of details of her own busy life (“I was on multiple boards, planning events, raising money for charity”), her children’s activities (science-and-nature class and Little Maestros), scheduled naps and mealtimes, but you’d never know the kids had a father, nor the author a husband.

It’s not unreasonable to expect a marriage’s demise and the breakup of a family would be a significant storyline in a book that’s billed as a memoir of love and loss. Surely there was love at first? Even if followed by loss. I understand the desire to protect one’s kids, as stated in the Author’s Note, but to have nothing to say at all? Is there a court order barring Owens from writing about the marriage? The exclusion is jarring and compromises the author’s authenticity, as well as the publisher’s claim that Bookends is “deeply personal, honest and moving.” That ten-year gap in the plot indicates the author is holding back – and that’s difficult to get past when reading memoir.

Thank you to NetGalley and Little A for the opportunity to review an ARC of this book.

Wow! What a vibrant, full life with much more on the horizon.

Many ups and downs—tragic loss, rejections, but also love, laughter, and a big heart. What I took away from this book is Zibby’s fierce love and loyalty to her family and friends and how books helped her through some tough times.

From a hardworking family who built businesses from the ground up, Zibby continues the tradition. She works hard and shares stories about her first, unique jobs out of college.

What I admire most is Zibby’s generosity—using money to do good—startups to charities. A supporter of what she believes in.

I love her perspective to get essays and books into more hands! For Zibby, it’s not about seeking fame or attention, it’s about getting the word out. Promoting books with messages that will resonate with others. Agree!

I related to a lot of what Zibby has gone through such as anxiety in school and in life, motherhood, feeling overwhelmed, divorce, second chances, finding love, loss/grief, persevering, jobs in marketing/branding, reinventing, book rejections, over preparing for interviews, reading, promoting authors, etc.! The point is—the book is deeply human, and many will find this memoir fascinating and relatable.

Zibby Owens is known for her inciteful reviews of books, and her podcasts and virtual appearances. Author of .the popular series of books and anthologies based on the reality that Real Moms Don’t Have Time …. Bookends exposes the real Zibby Owens in a, non-apologetic compilation of the events that have shaped and defined her. A self-described over achiever, born into a life of privilege, her life was not without struggles, disappointment and loss, Zibby shares each of these with a raw, refreshing honesty. Life’s stumbling blocks have been Zibby’s starting blocks. While parts of this book were quite poignant, the level of determination was inspiring. The glimpse into the author’s inner most thoughts invites the reader to reflect on one’s own ability to overcome the challenges that might otherwise be deemed insurmountable.