Book By: Alison Espach
Imagine this: you’ve been betrayed, your marriage has fallen apart, and you’re depressed to the point of wanting to end your life. And then, suddenly, you meet a few happy strangers, share a drink or two, and within a couple of days, your depression is magically gone. Sounds unrealistic, right? That’s exactly how The Wedding People felt to me.
The novel follows Phoebe Stone, who has just attempted suicide and checks into a hotel that happens to host weddings. It’s a setup full of potential- grief and despair colliding with the joy and chaos of weddings. But instead of really exploring that contrast, the book skips ahead to an easy turnaround. Within less than a week, Phoebe goes from suicidal thoughts to giving life another chance because she makes some new friends and even develops a crush on a groom.
I usually love sad novels. I seek out books that deal honestly with depression, trauma, and messy emotions. And I don’t mind when writers use humor to soften hard truths- humor can be a powerful way of coping. But here, suicide felt more like a plot device than a genuine part of the story.
What frustrated me most was how lightly the novel treated mental health. Healing doesn’t work like this. Grief, trauma, depression- they take time, patience, and setbacks. They don’t vanish because you meet a few new people or catch feelings for the wrong guy. To pretend otherwise makes the story feel shallow, even ignorant.
Strip away the heavy themes, and you’re left with a very familiar plot: a woman cheated on by her husband, devastated, then suddenly “finding herself” through friendship and romance. Beyond cliché.
I finished the book feeling disappointed. It could have been something raw and moving, but instead it was predictable and surface-level.
Cover photo from Book Club Chat