Ethan Joella knows how to write in-depth, diverse characters. I loved how these characters were all so different from each other, yet their lives cross in a believable way that pushes the story forward. Get your tissues for this one for sure!

This was a really powerful and emotional story about the lives of different people who are navigating through their grief. It reminded me a lot of his first novel, A Little Hope, but I enjoyed this just as much. The characters and emotions they were going through were believable, and I’m sure very relatable for a lot of readers. A beautifully written book.

After reading Ethan Joella's first novel, 'A Little Hope', I immediately picked up and read his newest book, 'A Quiet Life'. It is a deep and poignant look at how grief and loss impact three people, each dealing with their life changes in different ways.

Chuck Ayers is in his later years and has recently been widowed. His wife, Cat, was the center of his life. Now he feels empty and finds it difficult to even get out of bed. Each year, he and Cat spent the winter in Hilton Head but this year he is not sure he wants to go. Without her, where is there any pleasure? Interestingly, though they rarely argued, they had one big argument over a young woman named Natasha that Cat wanted to help. Chuck was unwilling to get involved in her life and now finds himself wracked with guilt over the way he acted.

Ella Burke is struggling emotionally and financially. Her ex-husband has kidnapped their daughter and the police haven't taken her concerns seriously enough. To keep a roof over her head, she delivers early a.m. newspapers and works part-time in a bridal store. She drives a broken down car and counts herself lucky to have any transportation at all.

Kirsten Bonato is a re . cent college graduate who had a dream of traveling around Europe and going to veterinary school. This has been put on the back burner since the untimely death of her much loved father. Kirsten works in an animal rescue center and can't decide how to live her life without her father in it. She is vested in loss and can't seem to come up for air.

How these three people meet and interact is the zenith of this novel which is tragic, comic, unsettling, and very true to life. The novel glows with compassion and empathy, giving the reader a true look at how we tackle, or deny, the losses and grief that we all have to deal with at some point in our lives.

This book was an absolute pleasure to read. Believable characters, whose lives intersect in completely organic ways made it both believable and uplifting

Loved this book from the author of A Little Hope. Perfect for a cold winter afternoon, it's a beautifully written story of loss and grief. Thank you NetGalley and Scribner for the opportunity to read it.

A deep, poignant read told from multiple POVs of three people dealing with loss and grief and healing. This book will break your heart then piece it back together. Beautifully written and thought provoking

Thank you to Scribner and NetGalley for a digital ARC in exchange for my honest review. All opinions are my own. A Quiet Life touched me by showing the manner in which we are often interconnected without realizing it. Chuck has just lost his wife, and he can't bring himself to move forward with some of the fun that they used to enjoy. We have Ella, working hard at both delivering papers in the early morning and working in a bridal shop in the afternoons. Her daughter is missing, and she hopes and prays for answers.
Set in a close-knit Pennsylvania suburb in the grip of winter, A Quiet Life follows three people grappling with loss and finding a tender wisdom in their grief. Finally, there is Krista, who had dreamed of becoming a vet, but she put those plans on hold. She knows she enjoys the work, but she's not quite sure where the rest of her life is headed. The characters are so well done, and just heartfelt. This book was just what I needed to remember that all humans aren't bad. So much better than I'd even anticipated.

Ethan Joella did it again! I was kind of worried because I loved his debut so much and I didn't think he'd be able to top A LITTLE HOPE. 🍁

I'm happy to say that I actually liked A QUIET LIFE even more 🪟

I cared about every single character so much and every plot line was equally as captivating. He has a unique way of weaving seemingly random characters together in the most beautiful way that will leave you in awe!

I want to read this book again right away and cannot wait to keep reading everything he writes in the future.

P. S. if you were a fan of Remarkably Bright Creatures, you'd love this one!

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Thank you so much to Scribner books for an e-copy and physical copy of this book prior to its release in exchange for an honest review. This book will be available for purchase on November 29th!

I turned the last page and could scarcely catch my breath. What a story. And still I wonder what so captivated me about this work—the beautiful, expressive writing or the story? A QUIET LIFE is a clear guide, a pathway through grief and healing. Ethan Joella, an English professor and author of A LITTLE HOPE (a Read with Jenna Bonus Pick), opens the novel with three individuals who have each suffered a traumatic loss. Weaving the lives of Chuck, Ella, and Kirsten together in a most natural way, this master wordsmith draws the reader into the same world of losses, of sorrows, and of bitter-sweet memories that are part of the emotional process of healing. This story overflows with hope and human kindness. It’s a miraculous tale that reveals how the worst events can sometimes change us for the better.
The characters are so authentic and well-described that I feel I’ve known them for years. Animals add a unique touch to this novel. Watch for any mention of cardinals, the rarest of birds who stays with us in winter when all the others leave. I believe that A QUIET LIFE is perfect for these uncertain, often contentious times and a story that whispers, “Be someone’s cardinal.” Is it sad? Oh, yes, there is a sadness that is exquisite, that is rich and deep—and yet perhaps even divine.

A Quiet Life, much like Joella's first book, delves into different characters whose lives eventually intertwine. The character development in this novel is exceptional, and I kept turning the pages, eager to learn about each person's connection with one another. I loved the simplicity of the story, and the message of love.

One of the most believable stories in grief. Sat down to read for an hour and couldn’t stop. Loved these characters. Ethan Joella is a strong voice in contemporary fiction!

I have not read Ethan Joella's debut novel, but after having the pleasure of reading A Quiet Life, there is nothing higher on my TBR list than more of this author's heartfelt writing. The book hopes to make sense — or at least, make accepted — grieving and loneliness, weaving together the stories of three characters who have recently experienced their own form of loss in a small Pennsylvania town. I immediately came to care for our three protagonists and looked forward to hopping back and forth between their viewpoints, eager to read on and discover how their stories would ultimately intersect. The peaceful solitude of the plot is the perfect background for Ethan Joella's prose. In fact, I think I'm obsessed with his writing style. He doesn't try to do too much, but quietly, unassumingly, the truth of his words creep up on you. So many lines in this book ring true and became deeply personal and relatable. I can't wait until this book is published so I can settle in and read it again, this time on a winter evening.

A Quiet Life by Ethan Joella is a beautiful novel about three adults living near a close-knit Pennsylvania suburb.

Written so beautiful, A Quiet Life invites us into several different stories in one small Pennsylvania town.
They experiences some relatable topics. I loved how they come to life so vividly.
The intertwining stories were beautiful, emotional, hopeful and powerful.
The writing style was so impressive. I loved this character driven story, and how each of the stories weave together beautifully.
Joella's writing is superb! Empathic storytelling, a good character-driven novel.
Warm, compassionate and deeply moving. I didn't want this book to end as soon as it did.

“I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.”

Scribner,
Thank You for your generosity and gifting me a copy of this amazing eARC!
I will post my review to my blog, platforms, BookBub, B&N, Kobo and Waterstone closer to pub date.

Thank you Netgalley for this ARC for an exchange for an honest review.

A good book worth reading.

✨ This book feels like… losing what you love. Like the emptiness that’s left behind. Like the flicker of a flame not quite extinguished. ✨

“Maybe loving someone so deeply means accepting the fact that they occupy a specific, clear place in you. You accept that there will be a hhttps://www.instagram.com/p/ChVPxxKp4mY/ole if you lose them—the same way a painting or photograph will leave its shadow on the wall after it’s gone, the way a tree will leave a crater where the roots and stump were.”

✨ After the loss of a loved one has erased their voice, how do you move on in the silence?

✨ This is a heartwarming story with characters you can’t help but root for. For those coping with loss and looking for hope.💛

This is a very sweet book about an older man grieving the loss of his beloved wife, and his healing through human connections from people in his community who are struggling with their own issues and losses. It’s relatively quick and readers will feel for these characters. The storyline has been done many times and a bit better by Fredrik Backman and others. I would still recommend this heartfelt and eventually uplifting book.


Thank you very much to NetGalley and Scribner for the advanced reader’s copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

If you enjoyed his debut novel “ A Little Hope” you will enjoy this one as well. A touching drama about loss and unexpected connections.

2.5/5

There's really nothing actively bad about this novel, and I can appreciate its intersecting depictions of grief and loss, but almost everything about it feels pedestrian and lacks color. The characters often feel like light sketches rather than people, and it's not just for lack of space to fully develop them, as a lot of time is spent reiterating their struggles rather than expanding upon them (or the characters as a whole), which can feel particularly repetitive with the interlaced structure. I tend to like quiet books and books that don't have much of a plot, but there isn't anything special in the language or prose here that would provide the intrigue and momentum that the story itself can't provide. Then once you get to the final third or so of the novel it cranks the plot up considerably and then it feels like that's all there is. Intriguing and gets the pages turning, sure, but it's abrupt and feels like it pushes the characters along too quickly. I don't feel it does anything especially interesting with the concept of an intersecting tapestry of characters beyond what you might expect - conveniences and we're all connected and all that. Conclusions and realizations that occur in the final chapters feel relatively unearned because of how minimal the characters are, and it all comes to a typically broadly satisfying end.

I liked aspects of the story and there was some poignancy at times that feels relatively genuine, but virtually everything about this book is middle-of-the-road. A fairly light and enjoyable read, but likely easily forgotten.

I just loved this story..
Chuck is in his early seventies and has lost his beloved wife to cancer.
Ella’s life is at a standstill as she awaits news of the whereabouts of her young daughter who was taken by the child’s father.
Kirsten is a young lady who works at an animal rescue
and is torn between two coworkers she had feelings for..she lost her father when he was murdered inside a gas station during a robbery.
Three lives in a Pennsylvania town, that come together in beautiful ways and help each other to cope.
Wonderful characters!

Thank you to Scribner and Netgalley for the ARC!

This book was lovely - both heartbreaking and hopeful.

The live of three very different strangers experiencing their own unique loss come together when their lives intersect. Their meeting allow each of them to help the other and shows that life can be bigger than loss. Ethan Joella shows each character's raw pain and makes the reader feel their anguish, but he also shows the way out of the darkness.

I highly recommend this book to all!

Thank you Netgalley and Scribner for providing me with an ARC in exchange for an honest review.