Goodbye for Now

I laughed, I cried, I honestly loved this book. Goodbye for Now is a truly unique novel that focuses on how we love, how we grieve and how we let go. Sam, a software engineer, works for an online dating company and develops a program that can match people with their one true soul mate by looking at their true interests and honest online communication. Sam tests the program on himself and is matched up with Meredith, a woman who works just down the hall from him; their relationship quickly proves that Sam’s program was right on – the couple is a perfect match. Though it looks like everything is going well in their relationship, when Meredith’s grandmother passes away unexpectedly, she breaks down. Out of love and the desire to help her with her grief, Sam uses his relationship algorithm to create a program that allows Meredith to “communicate” with her grandmother through e-mail and video chat. Soon, Meredith and her cousin, Dash, urge Sam to turn his program into a business – it has helped them cope in a way that they never imagined, and they are certain that it will help others who are grieving as well. As their business (aptly named RePose) grows, Sam and Meredith’s relationship continues to bloom. Sam, Meredith, and Dash become adept at helping the mourners who seek their help, and watch as RePose becomes a vehicle for healing. In a twist of events, however, tragedy hits close to home, and the technological tool which was created to help others will be desperately needed by the team. I don’t want to spoil the ending, so I won’t give any more details, but this story is absolutely great. It is a touching story that brings up the subjects of how we grieve and the never-ending power of love. Although love and technology seem like mutually exclusive concepts, Laurie Frankel does a wonderful job blending them together in this adorable and touching story. While it does have moments of tragedy, it is far from a sob-story – Frankel does a lovely job of making this into a contemporary love story and touching readers’ hearts with believable characters, universal questions, and modern themes. Furthermore, as a Northwest writer, Frankel has local details incorporated into this story, making it an extra-special treat for those acquainted with Washington state. This is a truly great read!