A Life Without Flowers

I love this book and the continuation of Carol Denman’s journey to figure out her life and find happiness. This book is about her relationship with her mom and her determination to sort out their grievances and find peace with each other. It has some humor as Carol and her mom and aunt take a trip to come to peace with the death of Katie who was Carol’s daughter. Great book of new beginnings! Excited for the third book A Life Without Regrets as Carol continues her journey!


Thanks to Marci Bolden and Pink Sand Press for the opportunity to read this book!

Wow so emotional get the tissues out. Heart-breaking but also heart warming as well. A mother coming to terms with her loss and making amends with family

You will need a tissue box while reading this heartbreaking, yet healing novel!

Carol needs to understand and try to make amends with her mother, Judith.
It seems as if they have never, ever gotten along. She is not even sure they truly loved one another.
Her father who has been gone years, always felt Carol never reached her potential. It seemed he was disappointed in Carol and her life.
Judith never stood up for Carol nor confronted her father in any situation and Carol wants to know why she never rescued her when needed.

She does know- that her Mom loved her late granddaughter, Katie and perhaps this will help open the communication lines for these two women.
Trying to move forward in her own life, Carol invites Judith and her aunt to go on a journey to say good-bye to her daughter, Katie, as she scatters her ashes in all of Katie's favorite places.
Will they go and survive together on this adventure?
Will Carol find some truths, love and understanding from her Mom?

This is the second book in the series- Life Without Water and though it definitely can be read alone, it will add depth and meaning to read "A Life Without Water" first.

This is an emotional journey and very well written!
I cannot wait to see the next adventure with Carol and her family!

What an amazing journey Carol has been on. This is Book two in the continuing journey of Carol’s brave journey. Carol comes to terms with the death of her ex husband, daughter and husband. She builds a stronger relationship with her mother after many years of feeling inadequate and longing for maternal love.
Like the first book, A Life Without Flowers is an emotional roller coaster of a read which grips the soul. The author has done a truly remarkable job by penning a life journey to portray a woman’s struggles.
Praise to the author

This is the second book in the series, where it picks up after Carol and her first husband, John, heal and find forgiveness with each other in their journey to visit all the places that their daughter, Katie, wanted to see.

Carol Denman heads to Florida with a mission to heal her relationship with her mother. She realizes it's something she wants before it's too late. Carol's father passed away, but she has a chance to get to know her mother. Through Carol's eyes, her childhood was one of always disappointing and not living up to her parents expectations. Believing that her good, just wasn't good enough with parents who were cold and harsh.

Carol's parents never cared for John from the start, so Judith is incensed that Carol had anything to do with John on his death bed. It is unconscionable to Judith, that Carol has forgiven John.

It becomes very clear to Carol that the path to healing the relationship with her mom isn't going to happen overnight. There has always been a push and push back between them. Carol's Aunt Ellen often plays peacekeeper between them.

Carol extends an invitation to her mother and aunt to travel with her in her RV where she plans to make stops along the way before heading to a dedication in Dayton, Ohio. Much to Carol's surprise, Judith and Ellen accept.

It is through this trip, that Carol is able to see her parents through a different lens than that of her childhood. She gets to see her parents as human beings with faults like everyone else, which brings greater understanding to why her parents were the way they were. As Judith shares experiences from the past, a door is opened where Carol comes to know that she was and is still loved. Carol, also is able to see the hurt she caused. The healing begins!

I love this series, which the very core of is forgiveness. So often, we expect others to react as we would like them to, and fail to see ourselves in anything other than rose tinted glasses. Life is never so simple. I highly recommend this series!

I received an ARC from NetGalley via Pink Sand Press and I have voluntarily reviewed this book.

I will start this review out by saying I first read A Life without Water and from my opinion, you will be missing out on the best of this book if you don’t read them in sequence. That being said, wow oh wow, this is a good book.
The writing was excellent the way the story went back and forth between the present and the past. And the biggest plus of all was both of these books absolutely opened my eyes to things in my past that I could have and should have done better.
This story continues on with Carol/Caroline’s journey in making amends for her past and wanting to forgive and move forward with her life. I truly found her mother obnoxious, I’m not sure I would have tried so hard, made me all the more thankful that I had a wonderful mother, but wow, this book had my father pegged. Once again, we load up the RV and head out for a road trip. I love the way they memorialized Katie, what a beautiful concept for a book.
Just plum loved both of these books, high 5 stars!!
I thank NetGalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read an ARC and provide my review.

This is a heartbreaking yet beautifully written story. You will need a box of tissue while you read this book. This is a very emotional story and I recommend you read book one A Life Without Water before reading this book. I can't wait to read the next book in this series. Thank you Pink Sands Press via NetGalley for the ARC copy of this book. All opinions expressed are My own.

A Life Without Flowers is the continuation of Carol Denham's story and is the second book in the series. It was quite the journey and I do feel it's important to have read A Life Without Water as well so you have the backstory.

Carol is at a crossroads in her life and she has decided it is time to try to mend her relationship with her mother. She heads to Florida where her Mom, Judith, now lives with her Aunt Ellen. Carol knows that this is going to be a challenging time as it seems that Carol has never been able to live up to her parents expectations and she and her Mom always seem to push one another's buttons. With her father having been gone for a few years, Carol wants to try to understand where the disconnect has always been with her parents so she can continue moving forward towards the peace she craves.

Carol, Judith and Ellen set out on a journey to say goodbye to Katie, Carol's daughter who passed more than twenty years earlier, as they scatter her ashes in places she would have loved, the question is will this family come out of this stronger or will the divide be even greater when they are done?

This book gives you the full range of emotions - happiness, sadness, anger, honesty, forgiveness and empathy. I enjoy following Carol's journey and she's come so far in these two books and I'm looking forward to what lies next for her next.

**I voluntarily read an early copy of this title courtesy of NetGalley and the publisher in exchange for an honest review**

I loved this emotional and therapeutic read as Carol continues her journey - this time to mend the broken relationship with her mother, Judith. I loved being with Carol, and sharing all of her emotions. I laughed, cried and sighed as she sought healing and redemption from a lifetime of emotional neglect. Ms. Bolden once again kept me completed captivated and totally immersed in all that was happening and I wasn't ready for the book to end when I got to the last page. I can hardly wait to read book three in this must-read series. I received an advance reader copy of "A Life Without Flowers" from the publisher via NetGalley and am voluntarily leaving my review.

Carol’s childhood is one I cannot relate to but I know there are many who will feel her pain as their own. I was worried that this was going to be a book filled with mother and daughter arguments that left the reader very uncomfortable because it starts out that way but it’s interesting how they gradually start to listen to each other and put the anger aside to heal. So many great lessons here, especially how parents shape their kids future, and seeing how one emotionally abused child grows up and the effects that a non-loving mom & dad have on a little life. It’s heart wrenching, but I only cried once - at their first stop to drop some of Katie’s ashes. I had to do that same thing myself after losing my 20 year old son Aaron. The description of not just Carol, but Judith’s pain shook me to my core. Really a great book about tough family relationships and loss. I like how the author stuck to the theme instead of making this a mushy romance.

Life Without Flowers is the second book in this series. You can read the books separately, but the story has more depth if you read them in order.

The characters are well developed and you experience all the joy and sadness the characters endure. It grabs you and gives you all the feels! The story is about love, loss, grieving and finally healing. You will need a box of tissues next to you during this read.

I've read all her books and look forward to the next one!! I would recommend this second book in the series.

Thank you to NetGalley and Pink Sand Press for the opportunity to read an ARC and provide my review.

#NetGalley #ALifeWithoutFlowers
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All I can say about this latest novel by Marci Bolsen is this one word 'WOW*
This is an excellent read. Follow the reconsiliation between Carol and her mother. Follow their journey as they find out exactly why things turned out why they had in the past between them and as they find peace. The characters draw you in I and can't wait to read the next novel in their journey.
Thanks to#NetGalley for the advance copy in return for an honest review.
#MarciBolden #ALifeWithoutFlowers

Holy cow! Nobody pulls out the emotions like Marci Bolden. Read A Life Without Water first. This is a continuation of Carol's delving into her past and all the surging of hatred, discontent, disappointment and grief that she discovers she is harboring deep down in her soul. This book mostly deals with her relationship with her mother. I love that Bolden brought in her mother's version of what had happened and her own discontent, disappointments and failures.
I stayed up to finish this book, which was very difficult in itself because I could hardly see through my tears. Carol's saying good-bye to loved ones while finding a way to honor them was emotionally devastating. The fact that she also got her previously seeming hardhearted mother to go along with her on her journey was the straw that broke the camels back--lots of tissues!
I loved this book!
I was given a complimentary copy of this book via NetGalley. All thoughts are my own.

This is the second book in this amazing series and it continues Carol's journey but you need to read the first book to get all history of what Carol has gone through in her life. Carol is going to visit her mum in Orlando to see if they can mend the rift that they have always had before it is too late and she feels that she has to try as they have never got on. There are so many emotions, arguments, bitterness, hope, forgiveness and many other situations between them but will they be able to reconcile all there differences or will there always be conflict between them. This story is a rollercoaster of emotions that you can feel coming off the page's of this book and it is a real page turner and so addictive and i couldn't put it down because I had to keep turning to see what would happen next and make sure you have your tissues handy because you will seriously need them throughout this story. I have read all of Marci Bolden books and I have loved every single one of them but this series is my all time favourite as she is an amazing author and writer and I definitely recommend you read this book and series and you will definitely not be disappointed. I look forward to reading many more books from Marci in the future.
I Voluntarily Reviewed an ARC Copy of this book.

A Life Without Flowers is an emotional book you won't want to miss. A Life Without Flowers is a story of love and loss and relationships. It is a story about fixing a complicated mother daughter relationship.

A Life Without Flowers is the second book in the A Life Without Water series. I read the the first book in the series, A Life Without Water, before reading A Life Without Flowers. However, I think you would still enjoy and understand this book without reading the first book. I don't think you would be confused, but there might be some information you would want to know that was provided in the previous book. I also recommend reading the first book because both books are excellent. Reading the first after the second would ruin some things.

Carol continues the roadtrip she started in A Life Without Water. Her first stop is to visit her mom and try to fix their relationship. With all the loss Carol has experienced and everything she went through in A Life Without Water Carol realizes the importance of making amends with her mother before it is too late. Carol is still grieving her husband. The one year anniversary of his death is approaching and she is still grieving and struggling. The book has flashbacks throughout the book. A Life Without Flowers shows the reader flashbacks of Carol's childhood with her parents and more about her marriage with her ex husband, John, who is a main character in A Life Without Water.

I really enjoyed A Life Without Flowers. The A Life Without Water series is one of those unique series where I cannot pick a favorite book because I loved them both so much. This book really brings the reader through different loss than A Life Without Flowers. I love Carol and am so happy Marci Bolden is writing another book in this series. I cannot wait to read A Life Without Grief.

I highly recommend A Life Without Flowers to anyone that likes emotional books and books about complicated mother daughter relationships.

Thank you NetGalley and Pink Sand Press for A Life Without Flowers.

An emotional roller coaster of love, grief and forgiveness. After the death of her husband, Tobias, Carol agreed to help her first husband, John, complete the bucket list for their six-year old daughter. (You really need to read the first book in the series before this one). After many years she has started the healing process to forgive both John and herself for their daughter’s death. Feeling the need to repair her relationship with her mother, Carol visits her mother and aunt. There are years of events in her past that Carol must resolve with her mother. Flashbacks to her childhood bring the reader along as Carol remembers the many difficult feelings, about her parents, that she had while growing up. Will this time with her mother finally bring acceptance and understanding? An absolutely wonderful read. I didn’t want it to end and was thrilled to see that “A Life Without Regrets” is due out December 29 <sigh>. I received an advance review copy at no cost and without obligation for an honest review. (by paytonpuppy)

This is the continuation of the Carol Denham story, the second in the Life Without Water Series, which was a 5 star read.

Carol Denham after the loss of her daughter, husband, and ex husband, continues her journey of healing as she heads to Florida in her RV, as she has sold her home, and most of her possessions in hopes of mending the strained relationship she has with her Mom, Judith. When she arrives, her Aunt Ellen is glad to see her, but the tensions with Carol and her Mom are in dire need of mending. Carol invites her Mom, and Aunt on a journey of healing, and letting go.

This book was great, a 5 star read. . Get out the tissues!! Book is to be released Aug 18, preorder your copy, you wont regret it. I would also suggest that you read the first book of this series before this one, as you will get a better understanding of Carol and her journey!
Thanks @Netgalley and @BoldenMarci for the chance to read this EBook Arc!!!

Another emotional journey through loss and pain and trying to find ourselves when there seems to be little left. Carol and her parents have never had an easy relationship. As Carol learns to cope with her child's lost so many years before, a more recent loss of her husband and the trip with and loss of her ex-husband, Carol finds the need to try to repair the relationship with her own mother before it is too late. There is a point where I'm not sure I personally would have bothered because I had an intense dislike of Judith....at first. As the story moved on, it became a more emotional journey because I had visions of my own relationship with my own mom, things I can no longer change. Through their own road trip, Carol learns that everything she saw and perceived perhaps was not quite as it seemed and in this way, she is learning to heal herself.