A poignant story of young love “Finding Libbie” is what happens past the point of “happily ever after,” that is facing reality – paying bills, putting a roof over your head, having clothes on your back and putting food on the table.
Marrying a year after high school, Jack and Libbie were ill-equipped to face life on their own. And though Jack had a five-year plan, Libbie did not. She just wanted to get married and keep house, which not surprisingly, Libbie found boring after a few short months.
Hence, she turned to drugs and alcohol. And everything spiraled down until their marriage hit rock bottom from which they did not recover.
Okay… that does not sound like an endorsement. Quite frankly, it is very hard for me to recommend this book. Though the book is well written and the story of Jack and Libbie so bittersweet, they failed to tug at my heartstrings. The protagonists remain two-dimensional until the end.
So, why am I giving this book 4 stars? I’ll explain but there will be SPOILERS. So, if you want to find out, please read on. If you don’t, then let me just say that “Finding Libbie” is an easy read but it does not have the depth of emotions that it was meant to have.
Moving on… SPOILERS BELOW and my unedited opinion of the book.
The book began auspiciously. Emily found out that her widower father Jack has a past. And she wanted to find Libbie, Jack’s first love with the hope that her father will be happy again.
Great premise, right? Well, “Finding Libbie 
Second, everyone is so conveniently dead! Emily did not have to face the wrath of Libbie’s family. Jack did not have to defend his honor or his daughter’s honor. Libbie’s family has a lot to answer for in what happened to Jack and Libbie’s marriage. But, they got away with it simply because they died. That is just so disappointing.
Third, Libbie is alone again in the end. Her happily ever after did not last… Ah-gain… Finding her was not a real journey, and then Libbie’s life after she was found was summed up in a few paragraphs. Again, another disappointment.
With that, my rating is actually 3 stars. But, I had to add one star (hence the final rating of 4) because the author discussed mental health and how it was viewed as an embarrassment and not a true sickness way back in the 1970s. Almost 40 years had passed since then but society today continues to view any kind of mental illness as an embarrassment.
“Finding Libbie
“Finding Libbie: A Novel
Poring over a dusty hatbox of photographs in her grandmother’s closet, Emily Prentice is shocked to discover her father was married to his high school sweetheart before meeting her mother.
In the summer of 1968, Jack and Libbie fall in love under the spell of their small town, untouched by the chaos of the late sixties. Though Libbie’s well-to-do parents disapprove of Jack’s humble family and his aspiration to become a mechanic, she marries Jack a year after they graduate high school. But soon their happiness crumbles as Libbie’s mental state unravels and she is drawn to alcohol and drugs. Despite his efforts to help her, Jack loses the woman he loves and is forced to move on with his life.
Now that Emily’s mother has passed away, Jack is alone again, and Emily grows obsessed with the beautiful woman who had given her father such joy. Determined to find Libbie, Emily pieces together the couple’s fragmented past. But is it too late for happy endings?
