Reaching for Beautiful
A Memoir of Loving and Losing a Wild Child
by Sally McQuillen
You must sign in to see if this title is available for request. Sign In or Register Now
Send NetGalley books directly to your Kindle or Kindle app
1
To read on a Kindle or Kindle app, please add kindle@netgalley.com as an approved email address to receive files in your Amazon account. Click here for step-by-step instructions.
2
Also find your Kindle email address within your Amazon account, and enter it here.
Pub Date Apr 01 2025 | Archive Date May 09 2025
Talking about this book? Use #ReachingforBeautiful #NetGalley. More hashtag tips!
Description
A luminous story of how love triumphs over pain, love transcends fear, and love never dies; this debut memoir from a mother grieving her young-adult son’s death is a must-read for any parent who has lost a child, is raising a child from the edge of their seat, or whose family struggles with addiction.
When Sally’s twenty-one-year-old son died in a boat accident, her greatest fear is realized. Christopher was often drawn to risk and struggled with addiction. In this riveting memoir, Sally captures the wild ride of his jam-packed life and her deep love for him while reflecting on her own childhood and family’s legacy of alcoholism.
Sally shares insights about what it’s like to experience the emotional aftershocks of acute grief, filtered through the lens of her personal experience as a mother and her professional vantage point as a psychotherapist. Even if they have not been touched by loss in this way, readers may see themselves in Sally’s bittersweet illusion of trying to keep her son safe, in how she is challenged to let go of her fear, guilt, and regret in order to forgive herself, and in the ways grief teaches her about the power of love.
A Note From the Publisher
Please leave your review on NetGalley and Goodreads.
Advance Praise
“The most enduring books write us and touch on the common human journey. Reaching for Beautiful is such a book. What Sally McQuillen endured in bringing a child into the world only to lose him decades later holds lessons for us all. Her brave and tender story will make any reader value life and our chance to be here more.”
—Mark Nepo, New York Times #1 bestselling author of You Don’t Have to Do It Alone and The Half-Life of Angels
“Sally McQuillen has given the world a great gift: the chance to feel a mother’s broken heart and see how she transformed her grief into a gentle peace. Anyone who has lost someone they love will be stronger for reading this powerful and tender book.”
—Meg Kissinger, author of While You Were Out: An Intimate Family Portrait of Mental Illness in an Era of Silence
“Reaching for Beautiful is not just for someone who has lost a child, or has loved a child, it's for anyone who has loved at all. McQuillen writes with the voice of a poet, lyrically, as well as straight to the heart. Her story is both a heartbreaking and a heart-opening must-read.” —Kristen Moeller, MS, literary agent and author of What Are You Waiting For?
“Powerful . . . honest . . . and inspiring, Reaching for Beautiful is a heartfelt journey through a mother’s grief experience, moving from darkness to light. It demonstrates the resilience of the human spirit, allowing for deep, authentic faith, purpose and meaning after unimaginable loss.” —Rebecca Rosen, spiritual medium and author of What’s Your Heaven?
“McQuillen shares her story with ineffable grace and insight, showing us how ‘over time the light outshines the darkness.’ Whatever hardship you are facing, reading this book will have you believing that her mission is beacon-possible.”
—Laura Munson, founder of the Haven Writing Programs and New York Times and USA Today-bestselling author of This Is Not The Story You Think It Is and Willa’s Grove
“Luminous and deeply affecting, McQuillen’s gift as a writer is to turn a deeply personal story into a blueprint for all of us navigating the line between loving our children and letting them go. With a storyteller’s gift and a therapist’s mind, she leaves the reader with a sense of awe at life’s beauty, and the promise of a love that transcends grief.”
—Julie Fingersh, author of Stay: A Memoir of Family, Love and Other Traumas
“In the aftermath of her son’s accidental drowning, author Sally McQuillen grapples with a grief complicated by his prior years of alcohol abuse. McQuillen is unafraid to share the roller coaster ride that is family addiction. In recovery herself, devoting her life toward helping others impacted by addiction, her loss is particularly poignant.”
—Sukey Forbes, author of The Angel in My Pocket
“This tender story of a mother navigating the loss of her extraordinary son is written with mercy and wisdom. Mercy toward herself as a loving mom who will always miss the physical presence of her beloved son. And wisdom as she shares the journey of spiritual awakening that her son’s spirit takes her on. These mysteries bring her to the truths we all seek about what is essential in life. Only love. What a wonderful book for anyone wondering if grief will have the last word.”
—Sue Frederick, author of Bridges to Heaven: True Stories of Loved Ones on the Other Side
Marketing Plan
NetGalley
Author Website
National PR Campaign
Social Media Campaign
Virtual Book Tour
NetGalley
Author Website
National PR Campaign
Social Media Campaign
Virtual Book Tour
Available Editions
| EDITION | Other Format |
| ISBN | 9781647428600 |
| PRICE | $17.99 (USD) |
| PAGES | 244 |
Available on NetGalley
Featured Reviews
Valerie S, Reviewer
I found this book to be very moving and relevant to me. I cried through much of the book, as I lost my son, my only child in 2021. The addiction issues were familiar, as well as the power struggles with a wild child. Beautiful writing, sharing what her grief is to her.
Reviewer 1670883
*possible trigger warnings for child loss and addiction
This was a beautifully written book. I couldn’t imagine the pain and grief of losing a child. This was a heartbreaking story of how one mom struggles after losing her “wild child” to an accident. And all the struggles that lead up to it. It’s definitely a hard read.
Thank you @net galley for the arc.
Kathie J, Reviewer
A touching tribute and a meditation on grief as a mother copes with the loss of a son she helped through addiction. This book had more depth than I expected as the author took us from the beginning of her son's life to the end, celebrating his wins and coming to terms with his struggles and the impact they had on the whole family.
With thanks to NetGalley for the ARC!
Pam K, Reviewer
A heart wrenching memoir of a mother losing her twenty-one year old son in a boating accident. It is a very honest and emotional account of her son’s life, his struggle with addiction, the family’s history of alcoholism, her struggles with grief, guilt and her unconditional love for him. The book is beautifully written, capturing all the emotions the author is experiencing. The author, Sally McQuillen, shares the story of her son’s life as well as some of her past and how it affected her and her family. She shares the devastating loss with us, how it left her reeling and searching for ways to come to terms with it. The loss consumes her at times and she struggles to find a way to go on while still keeping her love for her son with her always. A very touching and moving book. I give it 5 stars out of 5.
Thank you to the publisher and to NetGalley for this digital ARC in exchange for my honest review. The book will be published on April 1, 2025.
Readers who liked this book also liked:
L. Annette Binder
Biographies & Memoirs, Health, Mind & Body, Nonfiction (Adult)
John Lee Bishop
Biographies & Memoirs, Nonfiction (Adult), True Crime
Jennifer Welch; Angie Sullivan
Biographies & Memoirs, Parenting & Families, Self-Help
