Judy Merrill Larsen

As a child, Ellen Banks' son Daniel would ask his mother, "How much do you love me?" Ellen would always answer, "I love you all the numbers."

What begins as a beautifully sunny August afternoon on a bucolic lake, suddenly turns tragic when a Jet Ski swerves fatally close to the shore. It's a day Ellen Banks could never have prepared for, a day no mother should ever have to face.

From the moment her son James is killed, Ellen is thrown into a maelstrom of sadness and grief. She now must face the unimaginable prospect of living in a family that has been forever altered while somehow continuing to stay strong for her older son, Daniel. Daniel, who witnessed the fateful accident and blames himself for his younger brother's death.

Ellen's shock and grief soon give way to anger and defiance as lawyers and policemen who once vowed to support her quest for justice succumb to political pressure and back away. Still, Ellen is determined to see the reckless young man pay for his crime and to heal her family's deep wounds. But first she must heal herself.

This was quite a book. Touching and very poignant, the story was an extremely powerful one for me to read. While All the Numbers: A Novel was certainly sad, I enjoyed the book immensely and am eagerly awaiting Judy Merrill Larsen's next book with baited breath. I give this book a blazing A+!… (mais)

All the numbers is a masterfully written book. Judy Merrill Larsen takes you on an emotional rollercoaster of a family’s grief of losing an 11 year old boy named James. We first come upon Ellen when the event has already happened; right away the book pulls you into its emotional current and prepares you to hang on.

From that emotional beginning we move backwards and start where the evens would begin. We follow Ellen as she does the regular things we all do, she goes to the DMV and has a scuffle with the clerk about coffee. She goes shopping; she picks up her kids and listens to their demands. Don’t all of us do these same things everyday? And most of all she is looking forward to the yearly trip to the cabin. How she to know this was would be the summer all of it would change? How would any of us know?

You will cry when you read this book. You will cry as you watch Ellen make choices none of us would want to have to make about her youngest son and his death. You will cry when you see how she tries, and sometimes fails to be strong for her older son Daniel. Judy Merrill Larsen writes this book in such a way you can not help but picture it all. You can not help yourself but to feel the true raw emotion behind it.

Ellen also learns a lesson in that family is not always just blood. Her friends that’s she has known for many years stand by her through all of it. Anna and Sam are like rocks to her, and a friend she didn’t know could be made in a nurse named Laurie from the hospital. As the story continues the grief of fighting for a criminal trial introduces her to a wonderful lawyer named Bob. She feels guilty for her feelings towards him. Guilty that her sons death should bring her close to someone who might bring her happiness.

I would recommend this book to anyone looking for something good to read. The content is heavy, but it does have its bright points. There are happy moments, in memories and in learning how to live again after tragedy. This book teaches you that although life will not be the same, you can still live it.… (mais)