3.5 stars.

In This Moment by Karma Brown is an affecting exploration of unresolved guilt and grief.

Meg Pepper is a busy working mother who has never quite made peace with a tragedy that occurred when she was a teenager. Her long buried feelings of guilt come to the surface in the aftermath of a car accident involving the twin brother of her fifteen year old daughter Audrey's boyfriend Sam Beckett. After Meg waves Jack across the road, he is struck by an inattentive driver traveling in the opposite direction. She immediately blames herself and in the aftermath, her guilt takes a huge toll on her marriage to Ryan, her career and her relationship with Audrey as Meg begins making questionable decisions.

Even before the Jack's accident, Meg is already struggling to keep up with the details of her personal and professional lives. She is also a little resentful that Ryan does not seem to take her career seriously. Like many working mothers, she is expected to juggle the demands of her job with motherhood and the duties around the house. After Jack's accident, Meg becomes so guilt-ridden that she cannot sleep and when she does, she is plagued with nightmares about tragic events that occurred when she was a teenager. Sleep-deprived and incredibly stressed, Meg begins making mistakes at work and at home, she and Ryan begin bickering.

Up to this point, Meg is a very involved and protective mom who tries to ensure Audrey does not make the same mistakes she made as teenager. Before Jack's accident, Audrey never gives her or Ryan any reason to worry about the choices she makes and they trust her implicitly. Almost immediately after the accident, Audrey's behavior begins to change but she and Ryan are slow to realize exactly what is going on with the daughter.

With trouble brewing both at home and the office, Meg becomes her own worst enemy as she refuses to talk about her profound guilt over her self perceived role in Jack's accident. Although Ryan knows about what happened to her as a teenager, she cannot bring herself to admit that Jack's accident has brought all of her unresolved feelings to the forefront. Meg's downward spiral leads to discontent in her marriage and she makes a fateful choice that threatens her relationships with everyone she holds dear.

In This Moment by Karma Brown is a poignant and thought-provoking read but some elements of the storyline become repetitive. Meg's guilt over her role in what happened in both the past and present seems a little extreme and it is very difficult to understand why she won't talk to Ryan about the things that are bothering her. Although not everything is completely resolved, the novel's optimistic conclusion is quite satisfying. ( )

How often have all of us made a split second decision that has had a regretful outcome? If only we hadn’t gone there. If only I stayed home for an extra few minutes. If only I hadn’t said that or done that. For Meg, that split second decision to wave Jack across the road will be her if only for the rest of her life as for Jack, that crossing of the road had a devastating outcome.
Human emotions are so complex. We hold onto guilt and regret and in many cases we never forgive ourselves for what we see as our part in catastrophic circumstances.
Although Meg was not the driver that hit Jack, the twin brother of her daughter Audrey’s boyfriend, she feels such guilt that she waved him across for if not for that, the second car that she didn’t see, that sped up quickly would not have hit him. Is she to blame? She thinks so and she can’t forgive herself; same as she cannot forgive herself for another long ago accident that has haunted her since she was 16.
Out of guilt springs all kinds of emotions. Meg can’t think of much else other than making it better and dives into helping Jack’s family with meals and hospital visits and becoming so involved and preoccupied, her own life begins to unravel.
After reading one of Karma Brown’s books recently, I couldn’t wait to read another. There is such an emotional impact her books leave on the reader. Like the other one I read (The Choices we make) this novel had me scrambling to turn the pages and consume this book that I was totally involved in. You cannot read her books without becoming emotional invested in them. Watching Meg fall apart is gut wrenching and watching some of the events is like a train wreck you can’t prevent. Reading into that pivotal moment at the high school, I was saying “no no no”, helplessly knowing where it was going and not being able to stop it. Another “if only”.
Now I am torn between reading Karma Brown’s other book or waiting since then I won’t have another until she writes a new one. Either way, she has quickly become a new favourite author of mine. I give this one a 4 1/2 and highly recommend it. ( )

Very easy read. Meg Pepper, the main character, waves Jack, a teenager, across the street and the unthinkable happens. Another vehicle slams into him and tosses him through the air. This incident triggers past memories to surface for Meg, and Meg becomes consumed with guilt from both the present and past. I really enjoyed this read. It seems so innocent to stop and wave a friend, an elderly, or a neighbor across the street but it really is a no, no. ( )

Thank you to Goodreads and Park Row Books for providing me with a proof of In This Moment by Karma Brown in exchange for an honest review. The book was an easy read even though the story is quite complex. Meg Pepper has her busy life under control: her real estate job, her physician husband, her teenage daughter, her best friend all add up to a productive and happy life. While driving her daughter from school one day, Meg stops to wave a teenager named Jack across the street, not knowing that a car in oncoming in the next lane. A teacher is driving and texting and slams into the young man. The novel, from that moment, is about the ripple effects of that split-second decision that will affect the lives of many. Jack and his family's lives will be forever changed as well as Meg and her family's lives. There is plenty of food for thought here. It is a cautionary tale that stays with you long after you have finished reading. ( )

Thanks to Goodreads and Park Row books for this ARC.

Such a complicated life Meg has lived in her past and soon to be present. Her life isn't complicated until she waves her daughter Audrey's boyfriend twin brother Jack over the street and life changes for not only Meg, her husband Ryan (I just realized -- Meg Ryan), and Audrey but also for the other family. I didn't feel for the character Meg and she seemed frustrated in her life due to her best friends death at age 16 which developed into her present life after the accident. She didn't seem happy in life and it even gets more complicated with Jack's father in the end which cost her her marriage. ( )