“𝗜’𝗺 𝗻𝗼𝘁 𝗮 𝗰𝗿𝗶𝗲𝗿—𝗻𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗿 𝗵𝗮𝘃𝗲 𝗯𝗲𝗲𝗻—𝗯𝘂𝘁 𝗮𝘀 𝗜 𝘄𝗮𝘁𝗰𝗵 𝗮 𝘀𝗶𝗻𝗴𝗹𝗲 𝗱𝗿𝗼𝗽 𝗵𝗶𝘁 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗶𝘀𝗹𝗮𝗻𝗱, 𝗜 𝗿𝗲𝗮𝗹𝗶𝘇𝗲 𝗜’𝘃𝗲 𝗷𝘂𝘀𝘁 𝗻𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗿 𝗹𝗼𝘀𝘁 𝗮𝗻𝘆𝘁𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘄𝗼𝗿𝘁𝗵 𝗰𝗿𝘆𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗿 𝗯𝗲𝗳𝗼𝗿𝗲.”
It’s May 2024 and I’ve officially found a book that has made me sob this year! I’ve never resonated with a character more than I have with Charlotte. It’s easier to emotionally remain at the tip of the tallest tower and only give a man half of ourselves—the intimacy— instead of allowing them full access to our hearts. Though all we want is that one person who is willing to knock all the walls down and rebuild a house together, its terrifying; and instead, when it’s time to face the, “what are we?” we create chaos and run the opposite way. We fear the future because what we want may not be physically in the cards for us. However, there’s always that one man who still loves us through what we feel are flaws. For me, it’s my husband and for Charlotte, it’s Payne.
Kelly expressed the emotional turmoil of infertility so raw and precise. The walls Charlotte built to protect herself and the one she loved out of fear were true to her characters depiction. As someone who was told I’d struggle to get pregnant when I was eighteen, for years, I too felt wild and crazy when it came to relationships (29 year old me still can’t believe I birthed my son). I was fearful of not being able to give the man I loved a family and it was easier to engage in sexual relations rather than be serious and sustain a growing relationship.
It’s rare to read stories where a character struggles with fertility so it’s a breath of air to see this being discussed along with possible outcomes and the notion that one does not need to birth their own children to have a family.
Out of all the Poplar Falls books, Crazy Hearts definitely is the spiciest! I feel as if it couldn’t go any either way and fits Charlotte and Payne’s relationship dynamic perfectly.
