The first thing that beckoned me to this book was the title. Who wouldn't be curious with that? What kind of glasses are rosie colored ones? What magic does it possess?
This is probably the most heart-wrenching and heartbreaking tale I read for this year. This story would remain with me for long just like Colleen Hoover's It Ends With Us. This story had the same kind of effect. It affected me very deeply and even until now, days after reading it, I can't help but feel sad and sorry for Rosie. Yes, Rosie is a character in this book. She is a mom of two very adorable kids--Willow (what a lovely name!) and Asher. Rosie is a person bursting with life and personality. She is like always high with life. She loves wholly and with all of her. She does everything with great abandon. She goes all out.
Life is not all sunshines and roses, exactly what Rosie's life was. Everything started out great until she can no longer sustain the happiness and the energy that life demands of her. No amount of love that she gives and got back would keep her strong enough. In the end, depression proved to be a very daunting and formidable force that held her. Even her love for her kids was not enough weapon to fight against it. She succumbed and surrendered, leaving her kids heartbroken and lost, like a rudderless ship being tossed and thrown by the tempest.
This story squeezed my heart out until all that was left is pulp. I felt like I was Willow- lost and clueless; hoping that the nightmare she was in was just a nightmare. When she wakes up, everything will be sunny, and she can play Marshmallow City again. Her mom will shower her with love, hugs, and kisses. Everything will be all right because her mom is there. Unfortunately, it was not. The nightmare continues even when Willow is wide awake. And it seemed like the fear and pain is not going to ever go away. What's worst is her dad is not even seeing all the torment she is going through. Her innocence is slowly crumbling and fading. She is unbelievably lost and she needs a hand to hold on to keep her sane, to keep her anchored, but her dad seems to be oblivious to all that.
This is a very sad story. This dealt about the battle against depression and its aftermath, whether that person won the battle or not. Especially, if the person affected succumbed to the dark void of depression. Rosie, the main character was a very bubbly person and it was so unbelievable that she did not have enough inside her to cast out depression out of her system. Which just proves that depression is a very serious condition and not a lot of people survive it. Fun-filled and loving Rosie wasn't even spared by it. In a way, she was deep in the grip of depression and her choice of weapon to fight it was addiction. It was a very wrong choice. And the casualty of that choice were Willow and Asher. These two adorable and lively kids grew up with Rosie's abundant and generous love. Her creative spirit nurtured these kids. When Rosie became powerless against her monsters, even her kids' love and presence were not enough to keep her from tumbling down into the rabbit hole of no return.
Rex, the other half of Rosie, who was not blameless in all of this. I can't blame him for divorcing Rosie. He did try his best to keep his family but he was not totally there for his children. He did not love his children as much as Rosie did. Rosie's love was always bigger and she was closer and more attuned to the needs of their kids, like every mother should be. Rex, in some way was selfish and too inflexible. It took such a tragic event to shake him and be really present for his kids. It was almost too late for him to overcome his fear and embrace the reality that he and Willow were totally different individuals and that it was his duty to reach out and close the gap between them.
If there was one character in this story that touched me greatly, it was Willow. A very vulnerable kid, yet very lovable and cute. How dare the other kids bully her! She is not weird as some kids in school would like to believe. She is smart and creative just like Rosie and she needs all the hugs, kisses, and love she can get, just like every other kid. I just wanted to hug Willow and assure her that everything will be alright. She can depend on me if her father won't be there for her. I wanted to adopt her and Asher, so they won't feel lost and abandoned.
Arg! Even writing this review felt heavy in the chest. It's as if I am experiencing again the pains of what the characters of this story had to go through. All these emotions are running amok inside me and I had to let them out of my chest. This story calls for packs of marshmallows. I don't care how many, as long as it will be enough to make Willow feel better. Thankfully, Rex came to his senses and vowed to keep his family together. He promised to make his kids feel loved and special just like Rosie did. So, everything ended well. Now, I can stop worrying for Willow because she can still have a love most mad and moonly through his dad. The world does not end with it not being rosie colored anymore and love can come in all other forms.
Willow had become a leaky faucet of sadness. She dripped, dripped, dripped with it. It never gushed out in spurts or sprayed anyone around her.
- Brianna Wolfson, Rosie Colored Glasses -
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