Unswerving
In Barbara Ridley’s gripping novel Unswerving, a woman survives a car accident and contends with emotional trauma, harrowing rehabilitation, and a mystery surrounding the fate of her girlfriend.
Tave, once a top athlete at her school, wakes up after weeks in the ICU and learns that she is paralyzed. With her time in rehabilitation limited by an insurance cap and terrified that she has nowhere to go once she’s released, Tave struggles through grueling workouts to regain enough strength to meet her uncertain future. Even worse, no one has news about her girlfriend, Les, who was asleep in the passenger seat when their car was struck by a drunk driver.
The narrative details Tave’s days in the hospital’s rehabilitation center via evocative, multisensory descriptions, as of a hamburger that sits “heavy as a softball in the pit of Tave’s stomach” and of the scent of a woman being “sweet like honeysuckle.” As it progresses, Tave learns new ways of self-care, the use of adaptive equipment, and wheelchair handling. She wastes little time on self-pity.
Friends new and old rally around Tave, even aiding in her daring escape from the facility to search for Les. But Tave also deals with some despicable personalities, including her non-affirming, controlling mother, who demands that Tave move in with her. Expletive-peppered conversations drive the story forward, revealing dramatic backstories and deep emotions. And while there’s little hope of restoring what was lost, the book still comes to a satisfying, hopeful conclusion.
In the insightful novel Unswerving, a woman facing tremendous losses transforms because of her courage, resilience, and community.
Reviewed by
Kristine Morris
Disclosure: This article is not an endorsement, but a review. The publisher of this book provided free copies of the book to have their book reviewed by a professional reviewer. No fee was paid by the publisher for this review. Foreword Reviews only recommends books that we love. Foreword Magazine, Inc. is disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255.
