The World Looks Different Now by Margaret Thomson

The World Looks Different Now is an emotional story of a mother after the loss of her son. Margaret Thomson’s world is completely changed after the news that her 22-year-old son, Kieran, has committed suicide. Margaret and her husband travel to her son’s army base to help their daughter-in-law in the aftermath of this tragedy. Margaret needs to understand the circumstances surrounding her son’s death and works tirelessly to Kieran’s medical records and gain some sense of understanding about the death of her son.

I’m not sure what makes me go back again and again to emotional stories. There is something uplifting in reading about how a person has overcome such a terrible experience. Margaret Thomson’s story is utterly gut-wrenching. I cannot imagine having to lose a child. Reading Thomson’s story was difficult, but it was really interesting. She writes about a dark, horrible time in her life, but she adds these opportunities for the reader to feel the hope that she felt, bringing the reader out for a breath of fresh air. It created a beautiful reading experience.

The content of The World Looks Different Now is about suicide, so I think that readers should be aware of that if they have trigger concerns.

Overall, I thought that this book was well-written and created an emotional journey that I know was very healing for the author. It was a good book that I would recommend to readers that are looking for a story of hope and healing.

Where to Find This Book:

The World Looks Different Now by Margaret Thomson is available at these sites.

Kindle | Amazon | Goodreads

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On a glorious, if blisteringly hot, Saturday in August 2010, Margaret Thomson’s world is suddenly shattered by the incomprehensible news that her twenty-two-year-old son, a medic in the army, has taken his life. In a deep state of shock, Thomson and her husband immediately travel to Fort Bragg, North Carolina, where their son Kieran was stationed, in an effort to assist their daughter-in-law.

Upon their arrival, though, the couple find themselves plunged into a labyrinthine and, at times, seemingly bizarre world of military rules and regulations. Eventually, after the funeral and the memorial services are over, an even more challenging journey―emotionally as well as geographically―ensues, especially for Margaret, who, as a former journalist, is determined to find out more about the circumstances surrounding her son’s death, no matter how high the cost.

As she enters her second year of grieving, Thomson receives an unexpected invitation from an unlikely source―the army, which she’s often blamed in many ways, whether fairly or not, for her son’s death. Seizing upon this opportunity, Thomson finds that her perspective is changed―literally―and that as a result the world does indeed look different now.

Just the Facts:

The World Looks Different Now by Margaret Thomson
Genre: Memoir
Page Count: 304 pages
Publisher: She Writes Press
Pub Date: July 14, 2020