CONTENT WARNING: Mentions of depression and suicide
Is 40 years old too late to start your life over? This is the question that Phoebe Stone, the protagonist of the novel “The Wedding People” by Alison Espach, is asking herself.
Espach is well known for her other novels, “Notes on Your Sudden Disappearance” and “The Adults.” “The Wedding People,” which was named a New York Times best-selling novel, was published on July 30, 2024.
After being trapped in her house throughout the COVID-19 pandemic with a failing marriage that ended in divorce and losing interest in her career as a college English professor, Phoebe develops severe depression and starts having suicidal thoughts.
Her mental health journey takes her to the Cornwall Inn, an upscale hotel in Newport, Rhode Island, where she plans on spending one last luxurious day before taking her own life.
Unbeknownst to her, the hotel has been completely booked by a wedding party. One thing leads to another, and Phoebe runs into the bride herself, a young, wealthy woman named Lila Winthrop.
Lila is determined not to let anything, including Phoebe, ruin her wedding week. Phoebe soon finds herself making unlikely friendships, falling for a man who is strictly off limits, rediscovering her passion for English and learning how to feel alive again.
“The Wedding People” is an incredible story for individuals of all ages who may be going through an event similar to Phoebe or are just struggling with mental health in general. Espach excels at portraying the less obvious signs of depression that many experience.
When writing Phoebe’s internal monologue, she includes small, self-deprecating comments that almost go unnoticed to the reader, but are crucial to making her struggles all the more real.
As someone who considers myself an avid reader, this book is one of the few that I have deemed worthy of five stars on my Goodreads. Espach creates this strikingly real experience that made it hard for me to put the book down.
I found myself immediately connected to Phoebe’s character, and was rooting for her and her journey of self-discovery from the very beginning. Even though she is a fictional character, I was able to see all of her incredible qualities that she lost sight of as she experienced these hardships in her life.
Part of the enjoyment I get out of reading is making annotations and putting tabs in my books to mark my favorite parts and to keep me engaged in the story. “The Wedding People” was no exception.
Espach used Phoebe’s expertise in the English language to include several beautifully articulated quotes that I couldn’t help but make note of. Unfortunately, my copy is not at school with me, so I can’t provide a direct example; however, I can share that on several occasions, I found myself setting the book down and staring at the wall for a few minutes to process the depth of what I had read.
It was so beautiful and inspiring to watch Phoebe rediscover her passions and fall in love with other people and, more importantly, with herself. I cannot recommend this book enough and am looking forward to reading more novels by this author.
Delaney Smith is a first-year double majoring in English literature and creative writing and minoring in history and law, justice and society.
