Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for giving me the opportunity to read and review this fabulous book. To begin with, as a nurse working in an acute hospital setting, I loved the setting of the book. The interactions between the different medical professional involved in Margaret’s care felt real and the research done regarding her injuries and recovery process is apparent. While the plot itself was not surprising, I enjoyed getting to know the characters and sharing in their joy, frustrations, tears, and humor. Sometimes a person’s life may seem near perfect and it’s hard to imagine that one would want it any other way, until something horrible befalls us and forces us to re-examine what we want out of life, what’s important, and who are the people in our lives that truly matter. I believe Ms. Center has done an excellent job conveying all that in her novel. Margaret’s wide range of feelings while coming to terms with her new life, the ups and downs, denial, devastation, and ultimately acceptance always ring true and I have seen many a patient go through all of these emotions. There are good days and there are days when everything seems hopeless. I found myself rooting for Margaret and found the novel to be uplifting and full of hope.

I finally was able to sit down and read this amazing book after getting over an awful illness. It was so worth the wait. When I first started it, I was a little worried I wouldn't be able to handle a book involving a bad plane crash. I ended up giving it a chance and I'm incredibly glad I did. I literally could not put it down. Every little chance I got I picked it up, even if I only had time to read one page. I loved the overall message I took from this book, which was to never stop trying no matter how difficult your troubles may seem. Things really do get better with time. It really made me look back on the awful times in my life and realize how important it is to never give up. I truly believe in order to completely understand absolute bliss one must also endure some type of pain/sadness in their life. Also, when you are trying to find a way to keep on going try to focus on doing things to help someone else. There was a part in the book where Maggie was telling herself to look at the green in the trees and really see them. That part in the book immediately brought me back to an extremely difficult time in my life. It was autumn and I kept forcing myself to stop and see the changing colors in the trees. Thank you, Katherine Center, for this beautiful story and thank you also to NetGalley for allowing me to read it. This is one of those books that will stay with me forever.

This is a book that will stay with you long after you have finished it. I call that a well deserved book. I read it in one day. amazing. This story was very well written.. This is my next new author for me and I need to read more of her work.
The novel ’ How to walk away’ is about surviving and finding meaning after a terrible accident The book describes in a realistic and heartwarming way how she pierces her life together. It is never all tragedy
This story is tender and bittersweet most of all hopeful. You will enjoy this book

I don’t read a lot of what is typically classified as women’s fiction because sometimes the plots can be too formulaic and predictable. But there are authors in that genre who don’t fit into what I realize are probably my unwarranted and stereotypical beliefs about women’s fiction (and based on what I’ve read recently it’s time to change those beliefs!) I’ve read great women’s fiction by Jojo Moyes, Jodi Picoult, Abbi Waxman, and Liane Moriarty. And now I’m adding Katherine Center to that list. “How to Walk Away” was a wonderful story, filled with humor, wisdom, inspiration, great characters, and the reminder that, as one of characters says, “There are all kinds of happy endings.”

My review was posted on Goodreads on 5/23/18.

I think most of us are, at a minimum, acutely aware of the fact that at any given moment our lives could change in the blink of an eye. One decision could change the course we are on, ultimately moving us to a different path, one we might not have even considered. This book explores themes such as these and is sure to have readers avidly turning pages to see what happens next.
"How to Walk Away" is an inspiring tale about Margaret Jacobsen, a young woman that is on the brink of seeing all of her dreams come true. Having the dream guy and being close to having the dream job, Margaret is happy. Margaret is happy, until Valentine's Day, when her whole life changes in the blink of an eye.
Readers will be immediately captivated by Margaret's story and will cry with her and cheer with her as she deals with a new life, one she in no way anticipated would be her own. Definitely feeling all the feels from this amazing story, one in which will have you hugging your loved ones a little tighter and being extra thankful for the life you have been given, having realized it could all change in the blink of an eye! I absolutely loved this book, you will too!
Thank you St.Martin's Press and NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review this beautiful and heartfelt book in exchange for an honest review!

Margaret Jacobsen is on top of the world with her dream job and new engagement to her fiancé who she loves. Until the most unexpected thing happens, and she must face the reality that her life may never be the same again.
This wasn’t so much a romance novel but a novel of overcoming challenges and the relationships that make it possible. It was a wonderful ride. Margaret is a likeable character who engenders compassion from the reader. I cheered for her every step of the way. And as she struggled and struggled with her family and friends and care givers, I was touched by some very poignant moments. While some of the scenarios were a bit unbelievable and the epilogue wrapped things up a bit too tidily, they didn’t detract from my enjoyment of the story.
Ultimately, I found this novel engaging and entertaining. And, I found a new favorite quote and that is always memorable. “You just have to choose to make the best of things. You only get one life, and it goes forward. And there are all kinds of happy endings.” Highly recommend. 5 stars.
I received an ARC of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Margaret/Maggie had an uncanny fear of flying even though she had flown several times she still hated it. She related flying with crashing. Now she was seriously dating Charles/Chip who was days away from getting his pilot’s license. If she had thought about it she may have worked out how even though Chip was suppose to be a perfect fit for Margaret he was an suchan air travel enthusiast and willing to do anything scary and Margaret really wasn’t nor did Chip take into consideration Margaret’s fear it was all about him.It was Valentine's Day and Margaret hoped Chip wold propose to her. Margaret had known Chip a long time and they had been dating for three years.dChip had moved in next store to her parents with his parents \but they really didn’t get to know each other until they both wound up at business school together then they eventually fell in love. But for this Valentine's Day Chip took Margaret to a hanger to give her a ride in a small private plane even though he didn’t have his pilot’s license quiet yet and he had to talk Margaret into going up with him. Margaret's gut had told her to stay on the ground but she didn’t follow her gut. While in the air Chip did propose and Margaret accepted but then there was a storm and they crashed while landing. Margaret had spoken or seen her sister ZKitty in three years. When Kitty first went away she said a breather from the family and she would be in touch but she wasn’t in touch at all. The sum of Kitty and Margaret’s relationship was Margaret always trying to get things exactly right and Kitty hell bent on getting things spectacularly wrong. Margaret was crushed in the plane and was paralyzed as wella s her neck and face had been burnt and she would need plastic surgery. She had been in ICU for seven days she had skin grafts done and surgery on her spine. Chip had been there at first but then started drinking. Margaret was not feeling any emotions emless her mom was there. Margaret had no understanding that her life would never be quiet the same again.One day Chip came to see Margaret with greasy hair, his face covered in stubble , and his polo shirt had a brown stain on it. His pants were also ripped and one of Chip’s shoes were untied. Then Chip shoved his face on top of Margaret's and gave her a slobbery kiss that tastes like beer, dirt, and sleep deprivation. Chip then said the plane was totaled. She was totaled and he got away without a scratch. Chip then crumpled to the hospital floor and sobbed and said because of him she looked like a monster and would never walk again. Kitty came home when she heard of Margaret’s condition to be there for her and help her sister. She showed Margaret a lot of love and resourceful support when Margaret so desperately needed it. Margaret ended up with Ian as a physical therapist and even though struggled with physical therapy she also tried to get Ian to smile whenever she could. Kitty tries to help Margaret cope with being paralyzed. Margaret is determined to draw Ian out.
I had mixed feelings on this book. There was a lot of emotions shown in this book and a lot about the physical part of Margaret’s recovery yet what about the mental- the depression, wanting to give up, suicidal thoughts that should have also been covered more thoroughly in my opinion with such a horrific change in Maggie’s life. Then how Chip was pitying himself and saying awful things like how Margaret looked like a monster and would never walk again and came in drunk/hungover. Then His mother … what a piece of work she was even Margaret’s own mother was really no help but she at least did love Margaret but was no help. Thank God for Kitty and Ian. There were times however that I did chuckle while reading this but other times I did choke up. This did have a good plot yet it dragged for me at times. It was a pretty good read just not a great read. I also obvious;y got annoyed with some of the character sand Chip right from the beginning fan of his I was NOT. As I said I had mixed feelings on this one.

All the tears for this book. Margaret has a great life and a bright future, but a jackass of a boyfriend. He knows she hates to fly, but decides even though he doesn't have his pilot's license, that a small plane if the best place to propose. Ugh, he was a tool from the beginning. I'm trying not to give too many spoilers, but it must be said - Chip is a creep. His name sums him up perfectly.

As Margaret begins her healing, she is surrounded by her family, her estranged sister makes a sudden reappearance, and she gets the crabbiest physical therapist ever.

Margaret's story is unpredictable, and you'll want the miracle, but then you have to try to decide, what do you really consider the miracle?

If you've ever read any of Katherine Center's books before, you know that you'll get a great story with just enough reality to make you feel like there are happy endings available for everyone. Definitely read The Bright Side of Disaster or Everyone is Beautiful - they are both great books.

I LOVED this book. I really liked the main character and how she dealt with everything. It was a good love story...was afraid it would be sappy but really wasn't. Be still my heart for Ian!

This book reminded me a little of "Me Before You" with the paraplegic story. However, the details and story are very different.

Maggie has everything going for her. The perfect job is said to be hers, she's got a great boyfriend, and a very rosy future. Then on the same day she gets engaged, she is involved in a plane crash. The results are life changing, forever.

I loved going on this journey with Maggie as she tries to figure things out during the 5 1/2 weeks of hospital stay that the insurance will pay for. Her whole life has changed and she's not really in the best of moods or abilities to consider what will happen in the future.

I laughed, I cried, I was thoroughly entertained. I would recommend this to anyone who enjoyed the aforementioned book and to anyone who likes to read a really good story.

As for the fiancee, Yuck, is the only nice word I can think about calling him right now. Ha!!

Thanks to St. Martin's Press and Net Galley for providing me with a free e-galley in exchange for an honest, unbiased review.

This year, I have been reading a LOT of romance novels. It is a genre I don't have a lot of experience with, so one of my reading goals for the year was to try to explore the genre a bit more.
This novel was such a lovely romance. I found myself cheering for the main character constantly and wanted so badly for her to come out on top.
I think my only complaint about How to Walk Away is that I would have liked to get to know some of the side characters a bit better. In particular, Margaret's Dad, Ian and Kit's boyfriend. I would have loved to see more of their personality. Those three men seemed to be sort of glossed over, in spite of being vital to the story. I would also love to see an entire novel about Kit and her story. She would be such a fun character to read more about!
I liked reading about a character with fears that play such a major part in the story rather than what is becoming the typical fearless woman. It was nice to see someone with such a human fear/flaw. While I do appreciate reading about strong women, this book shows that you can have fears and flaws and still be a strong woman.
Overall I enjoyed this story. It is definitely a book I would pull out again on a cold rainy day, or any day I'm craving something light and cozy.

I'm surprised by how enjoyable a book about the aftermath of a horrible personal tragedy can be. The main character experiences a plane crash, paralysis and disfiguring burns in the beginning of the story and the rest of the book discusses how she deals with this unimaginable tragedy. It also includes being dumped by her fiance, the pilot of the downed plane. Sounds like a giant bummer, right? Somehow, this book made a really dark topic palatable by focusing less on the severity of her injuries and depths of her misery, and more on how she learned to "walk" away from them. She remained herself, even though her outward appearance and functional abilities changed dramatically. I found myself wondering if the tone was even too lighthearted at times, glossing over some pretty significant hardships, but ultimately I let myself enjoy this one.

This is a great, quick read. I love romancey-family novels that include topics that I don't know much about, and this book fits the bill. It is about courage and resilience, forgiveness and recognizing what really matters. It's inspiring and thoughtful. I enjoyed the characters, the story and the themes.

Margaret Jacobsen is on the verge of having it all: the perfect job, fancy condo, gorgeous fiance. But seconds after her boyfriend, Chip, proposes, her life is changed forever. 



Her whole life, Margaret has been afraid of flying. Those fears are realized when Chip crashes the small plane he was flying, leaving her paralyzed and badly burned. 



Margaret now has to learn to rebuild her entire life. She has six weeks in the hospital to pull herself together and no idea where to begin. 



With most of the book taking place in one setting: a hospital room, it would be easy for "How to Walk Away" to feel claustrophobic, but it never does. Margaret's injuries are horrific, from a major spinal cord injury that prevents anything below her knee from moving to second and third degree burns across her upper body. 



As she deals with her altered life, a whole cast of characters moves through her hospital room, both helping and hindering her. Her overbearing mother, guilt-ridden fiance, cheerful father and bad-sheep sister all descend upon her, with advice, hope, take out meals and their own baggage. 



She also ends up saddled with a gorgeous, surly Scottish physical therapist named Ian who refuses to engage with her at all beyond PT work, leaving her feeling adrift. 



Margaret has always tried to be perfect but with her life suddenly far from where she ever imagined it would be, she has to learn to give up what she thinks her life should be and accept what it is now.



I really enjoyed this book. Margaret is a traumatized, broken character who keeps getting hit after hit, but she manages to learn how to trust herself and figure out what will make her happy in her new life. Her relationship with her sister, Kitty, is so realistic, it had me yearning to see my own bad-sheep sister. I liked how her parents and sister had their own dramas too, which opened the story up beyond what was happening in the hospital room. 



Some of this story focuses on romance. Romance lost and romance found, but I didn't think it was overly cheesy. At one point, early on, I groaned to myself, thinking this was going to veer off into Nora Roberts territory, but it really didn't. I ended up rooting for two of the characters to find their way to one another. 



Two gripes: I would have loved to see Margaret interact more with people in the hospital. At one point, she mentions saying goodbye to fellow patients, but we never saw her interact with anyone beyond her own family, Ian and a few other members of the hospital staff. 



Also, eventually Margaret does find a purpose, which is a very worthy one, but I wish the seeds for that had been planted earlier. When she comes up with her big idea, she comments that she had told her sister about it a couple of days earlier, but we never saw that scene, which I think would have been a nice touch.



I got close to the end last night and tore through the final pages this morning while trying to do the dishes. I know I'm completely engrossed in a book when I risk getting my kindle wet! 



Margaret was a character I could really root for as she learned to handle her new future. Her experience, though tragic, was portrayed realistically (author Katherine Center really did her homework on spinal injuries and paralysis). This is a great summer read, the perfect book to devour on the beach one day. Don't miss it!

Thank you to St. Martin’s Press, Netgalley and Katherine Center for the free digital copy! I really enjoyed this book! The writing was excellent and pulled me right in from the beginning. It was a book about hope, strength and family. Although I wasn’t surprised and predicted some of the things that happened, the story just naturally flowed. My favourite part was the epilogue, because it just beautifully tied everything together. Overall I rate this book 🌟🌟🌟🌟/5. I highly recommend it and look forward to reading other books by the Author!

HOW TO WALK AWAY by Katherine Center has it all and lives up to all the hype I’ve heard about it. It has a good plot, well developed characters, and runs the emotional gauntlet. It also has family, love, forgives, pain, despair and joy. It’s so damn believable that you feel like an additional character, tagging along to all the PT sessions and hoping beyond hope that Margaret gets a happy ending. The evolution of Maggie and Kit was even better than imagining Ian in his plaid mountainman shirt. Seriously, this book made me laugh, get teary, and exhale. Do yourself a favor and don’t start this one if you can’t spend the night reading it – you won’t want to put it down!

I received an Advance Review Copy of this book. All opinions are my own.

Margaret finally found her dream job and her boyfriend is just about to ask her to marry her. Until her perfect fairy tale is ripped off of her. Just a few hours after the proposal she’s in a hospital bed, paraplegic! While her brand new fiancé is drowning himself in sorrows and alcohol. The only good thing going on for her is Ian, her physical therapist, who seems to be the brightest thing in her darkest time!

So, I have a problem: I deliberately feel the character’s pain. It’s just something that I can’t help. So imagine me reading a book about a woman that just lost her ability to walk and the man who wanted (note the past tense)!

I kid you not, I’m the biggest fan of a good romance story but what kept me going in this book was Margaret’s tragedy. This was one hell of an emotional rollercoaster! I think this is the kind of book that everyone should read from time to time for a reality check. Because contemporary romance is pretty much all ladies’ dreams nowadays even though they’re not always true.

“It’s the trying that heals you”.
So, real-life conversations aside, this book is perfection! Absolute perfection! The writing style is really enjoyable. You get so much of Margaret’s feelings and thoughts without boring and long descriptions! Honestly, my first book by Katherine Center and I’m already a fan! And then the story is so different and so real! With so many problems that a family can go through and the many blessings that you have without even realizing!

Also, because I know you want to know this, there is a man involved too! And no, I’m not talking about her supposed-to-be-future-husband, I’m talking about her physical therapist! Who is a very much asshole in the beginning but ends up warming up to Margaret (if you know what I mean)!

“You’re standing,” he said. “You’re smiling”, I said.
Overall this is a pretty serious story with some serious lessons even though it goes hand in hand with a cute tale! So go ahead and read it!

This was the perfect chick lit. It was incredibly predictable, it was easy to see where the story was going early on, but it didn't take away from enjoying it.

This is the first novel I’ve read by Katherine Center and it won’t be my last - I loved everything about this engaging book! The strong characters, their dynamic interactions and the author’s fresh approach to overcoming fears and obstacles drive a beautiful and compelling story. I loved the relationship building, the snappy interactions between courageous plane survivor Maggie and her exuberant estranged sister, Kitty, who barges back into Maggie’s life like a freight train after a 3-year absence. The ebb and flow relationship between Maggie and Ian I felt deep in my heart - those scenes were pure magic! A great killer ending was the cherry on top.

My Rating: 3.5 stars



I have mixed feelings about this book. While I can’t say I didn’t enjoy reading this (I actually enjoyed alot of it, very much so in fact!), there was something about the way the story was written that made it difficult for me to connect with the story and its characters as much as I think I was supposed to. Don’t get me wrong – I did like majority of the characters, of course some more than others. Margaret’s sister Kitty, for example, was one of my favorite characters – I loved her personality and how unconventional she was, yet she was there for her sister when she needed her the most. Unlike most of the readers out there who were probably more touched by the special relationship that Margaret and Ian shared, I actually found the sisterly bond between Margaret and Kitty to be the most moving and also the part of the story that I enjoyed most. Perhaps it is because I am a generally cynical person and so a “fairytale romance” like the one Margaret and Ian had in the story just didn’t feel realistic to me (the ending didn’t help either with the way it was so neatly packaged in shiny wrapping paper with the most beautiful bow on top). The relationship that Margaret had with her sister Kitty on the other hand, did feel realistic and the way they interacted – constantly bickering on the outside yet showing through their actions how much they actually loved and cared about each other on the inside – felt more genuine than all of the romantic relationships within the story. Aside from Kitty, I felt that most of the other characters were a bit stereotypical (yes, including Margaret, who was at the center of the story), yet despite that, at the end of the day, I couldn’t help liking these characters even though I didn’t connect as much with them on an emotional level as I typically would have.

In terms of the story itself, I actually found the plot a bit too contrived and predictable, with too many coincidences and in some sections, it felt like too much drama was created unnecessarily – by the end especially, it felt like the author was trying to pile as much drama on as possible, which, to me at least, had the unintended effect of causing confusion and contradiction with some of the plot points. There are some books out there that are written expressly to convey a particular message and to me, this book felt like it fell into that category, as the message that was being conveyed through the story – a message about hope, resilience, love, courage, etc. -- seemed to matter way more than the actual plot and maybe even the story itself. Perhaps this is why, despite the fact that I felt the story was a bit cliched, the plot a bit too predictable, and some (not all) of the characters were somewhat stereotypical, I still found myself drawn to the story and not wanting to pull myself away. Indeed, this was a quick read, one that I was able to plow right through in more or less two days.

Basically, I would say that I liked the story overall as well as the characters (most of them at least), but unfortunately was not keen on the execution. While it’s true that from the getgo, I had some understanding that this book would be a relatively lighthearted, “feel good,” uplifting read and I guess from that perspective, this book did its job and then some – though to be honest, I felt the author went a little “too light” in some places that perhaps should have been more serious. Also, there were some consistency issues where it felt like some things were overexplained while others that should have been explained more were glossed over. I think if this book had been more tightly written, less cliched, less predictable, it would have been a more emotional read for me, and a more memorable one as well.

Overall, I did enjoy this one – parts of it at least – but felt like it could have been so much more. I would still recommend this book, though more for the “feels” rather than the plot or the writing, as I felt that both these areas were definitely lacking. With that said though, this is one of those books where it’s best to set aside judgement and just go into without overly high expectations and see where the story leads you.

Received ARC from St. Martin’s Press via NetGalley