Too Soon for Adiós

Too Soon for Adiós by Annette Chavez Macias has written a heartfelt story of Gaby Medina, that includes grief, generational trauma, finding your way, and even some romance.

Gaby Medina has put aside her career to take care of her mom along with her two aunties, who grew up with her mother.  At her mother’s funeral, Gaby comes face to face with a man. That man turned out to be Gaby’s biological father, who she had never met.

Grieving her mom, she now has her biological father that wants to get to know her.  When she meets with him, Raúl makes Gaby an offer.  He knows that Gaby has some bills to pay, so he offers his grandmother’s house, her great-grandmother.   Raúl is very considerate in accepting Gaby’s conditions for what the relationship will look like.

Then we see Gaby move to New Mexico, to a small town she has no interest in getting to know.  Since her visit is transactional.  She planned to get the house fixed and sell it.   To pay her bills and to move back to L.A.  Upon arriving in Sonrisa, Gaby briefly meets with her father Raúl in a small restaurant.  This restaurant has so much of Gaby’s family history, as the entire town of Sonrisa does. It’s up to Gaby to figure out if she’s going to open herself up to learning about herself and the people of Sonrisa, especially her contractor.

The story is beautiful.  Life gets put on pause to be someone’s caretaker.  It is hard to move on once that person is gone.  Gaby has to come to peace, understanding that how to honor someone is not to stop living. Get your tissues ready because the generational healing that takes place in this novel is deep.

You can Pre-Order your copy of Too Soon for Adiós, here.  Curating Edits supports Bookshop.org and its commitment to supporting local bookstores.   This book was received as an ARC copy in exchange for a review from NetGalley. (Affiliate disclosure)