Worst Case

by Beck Anderson

Some stories make the make my world a better place…this is one of them.

Moving to somewhere new, is nothing new to Vivi, neither is living with the crippling anxiety that her mother deals with on a daily basis because while it is her mother that calls the shots, it is Vivi the deals with the consequences…like having to finish her education at yet another new High School, this time in the delightfully named Coeur d’Alene, Idaho

I felt an empathy for Vivi that drew her to me, instinct telling me that this character, her pain and her happiness would matter, I could almost hear my internal self, beginning to plead for a happy ever after for her.

With a few weeks left of school, I had high hopes that this uniquely beautiful young woman would find the peace that she needed to achieve her goals, so when she struck up a friendship with Win, I could feel a cloud lift , only to quickly be replaced by my overactive imagination and a plethora of what if’s…I mean she hasn’t had it easy up till now…always been at her mother’s heel so to speak but would her bond with the fabulously sweet Win be what she needs to find the true Vivi?

Win was a gem of character, he was a true friend to Vivi, encouraging her to cut loose and experience life as a normal (almost) 18-year-old. But could she see her bigger picture or would the tether of her mother and her anxieties always hang heavy over her?

The connection between Win and Vivi was deeper than I anticipated, their souls connected in a way that was genuinely disarming. Win brought out the best in Vivi, his breath of fresh air was all she needed to spread her wings and learn to fly. They grew together, they learnt much about not only each other but also themselves and laughed more than either would have considered possible.

I felt sorry for Vivi’s mother, the illness she suffered from, the anxiety that crippled her and blighted not only her life but that of her child was an all too real situation that I thought the author handled with the most delicate of gloves, she gave both mother and daughter the opportunity to feel their way through their relationship and to harness what they needed in order to keep their relationship as close as it could be, after all they had been through so much together, that is not something that can be swept under the carpet.

Watching the characters grow, seeing their eyes open to all that they have around them and encouraging them to explore and express what they’re thinking and feeling is Beck Anderson at her very best. This is an author that hides nothing, that lays it all out before you and takes you by the hand through the most difficult of subjects but with the deftest of touches, ensuring that you come away having not only experienced a most beautiful love story but that you also have an appreciation and understanding of a subject that may not have touched you before, that being the pain that is mental illness.