You Take It From Here [Paperback]

Pamela Ribon (Author)

Book Description

Release date: July 3, 2012

Just because you’d give your best friend everything doesn’t mean she has to take it.

On the heels of a divorce, all Danielle Meyers wants is her annual vacation with sassy, life-long best friend, Smidge—complete with umbrella cocktails by an infinity pool—but instead she’s hit with the curveball of a lifetime. Smidge takes Danielle to the middle of nowhere to reveal a diagnosis of terminal cancer, followed by an unusual request: “After I’m gone, I want you to finish the job. Marry my husband. Raise my daughter. I’m gonna teach you to how to be Smidge 2.0.”

As Danielle wrestles with this major life decision, she finds herself torn between being true to her best friend’s wishes and being honest with herself. Parenting issues aside, Smidge’s small-town Louisiana world is exactly the one Danielle made sure to escape. Danielle isn’t one for playing the social butterfly, or being the center of attention. And when your best friend tries to set you up on a date night with her husband, it might be time to become the bossy one for a change.

In the spirit of Beaches and Steel Magnolias, You Take It from Here is an honest, hilarious, and heartbreaking novel that ultimately asks: How much should we sacrifice for the ones we love the most?

Editorial Reviews

Review

"...a book with all the elements I love: best friends, "found" families, Ribon's trademark humor and vivid writing (the description of Smidge's cancerous cough is heart-stopping)." -- Jennifer Weiner, author of GOOD IN BED and THE NEXT BEST THING

"YTIFH is ... like a planetarium, where what matters is the feeling of the whole... You get to the end... and you have that sense that you've heard a whole story that seemed to be about skin-and-bones people, to the point where part of you is still worrying about them, like they're phantom limbs." -- Linda Holmes, NPR

"Don't let the cover ... fool you:... the story that unfolds is anything but just another chick lit beach read. Ribon has undoubtedly made you laugh in the past... but with "You Take It From Here," she will make you cry. Buckets." -- Danielle Turchiano, Made Possible By Pop Culture

"You Take It From Here was my first experience with author Pamela Ribon, but it won't be my last. She has a wry sense of humor, a unique way of putting words together, and even managed to write a humorous book about a dying wife and mother." -- BOOKS AND MOVIES

"If the standard of a good book is the emotions it conveys, the thoughts it sparks, and the way you find it touching your life after you close the pages, because the story sits with you (and I think it is), then this book is more than good. It is spectacular." -- FromTracie.com

"A book with all the elements I love: best friends, “found” families, Ribon’s trademark humor and vivid writing... I can’t wait to dive in." (Jennifer Weiner A Moment of Jen)

“You get to the end of the book, and you have that sense that you've heard a whole story that seemed to be about skin-and-bones people, to the point where part of you is still worrying about them, like they're phantom limbs.” (Linda Holmes NPR)

"One of those rare books where the characters feel like your best friends from the first page. You'll laugh and cry as Pamela Ribon takes you on a colorful, rich and unforgettable journey of friendship." (Kristin Harmel, author of The Sweetness of Forgetting)

“Hilarity and heartbreak compete, but ultimately hope wins in this thoroughly delightful story about what it means to be a woman, a mother, a best friend. I can’t wait to pass this book along to every woman who ever mattered to me. Pamela Ribon has a huge, fresh voice, and this is her best book yet.” (Joshilyn Jackson, New York Times bestselling author of Gods in Alabama and A Grown-Up Kind of Pretty)

“I giggled, I laughed, I got all angry and emo - and once I made sure no one was looking - I cried.” (The Readers Cafe)

From the Author

[Excerpt from a piece written for John Scalzi's THE BIG IDEA]

You Take It From Here deals with a lot of bossiness.  Stubborn people, one-track-minded illnesses, the conviction that comes with knowing someone loves you wholeheartedly, and what can happen when you're faced with the terrifying enormity of the unknown. It's about the lengths we will go to for the people we care about the most, and how much we can handle in order to hang on for the ones who need us. We act like nobody knows how he or she going to die, but that's not exactly true. Some people know. They know with utter certainty. Sometimes they even have a pretty good idea of when. When those people need you, it's hard to say anything other than, "Tell me what to do."

This is the part where I need to tell you that this novel is mostly a comedy. It's about friendship and history and small towns and love affairs and yes, cancer, but it's really about that bond you have with your very best, lifelong friend, and how it can survive pretty much anything.

Perhaps because there's no legal way to sever it. You can't divorce your best friend. You can't get emancipated from her. A restraining order only sends her to the boundaries of what will still be an audible yelling zone. You are stuck with each other, even if you spend years ignoring it, even if you pretend each other dead. You will still talk to each other inside your heads. You can hate each other like siblings in the back of a car on week three of a month-long family vacation, but you will still need each other like lovers reuniting at an airport. Nothing can split that bond. Not even death. Because you know that girl will find a way to haunt you. So you'd better be nice to her while she's still around.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 336 pages
• Publisher: Gallery Books; Original edition (July 3, 2012)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1451646232
• ISBN-13: 978-1451646238
• Product Dimensions: 8.2 x 5.3 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 9.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (23 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #773,592 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Pamela Ribon is a bestselling author, tv writer, screenwriter, retired derby girl, and Wonder Killer. In addition to her novels (one of which landed her a spot in the Oxford English Dictionary under "Muffin Top" (look it up.)), Pamela continues to work in television, notably having written for the Emmy award-winning show Samantha Who?. Her stage productions have become international cult sensations (Call Us Crazy: The Anne Heche Monologues), and she's been a featured performer at HBO's US Comedy Arts Festival. On the Internet she's known as "Pamie," where she's been running her wildly successful website pamie.com for a very long time, long enough to have been nominated for a "Lifetime Achievement" Bloggie. Pamela lives in Los Angeles, where she writes and writes and writes.

Photo Credit: Jessica Schilling Photography

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Great heartfelt read July 7, 2012

By jp

Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase

You Take It From Here is a book you'll want to give to your mom, your sister, especially to that one friend who has made all the difference in your life. While you may not want to ask them to 'take it from here' - you will relate to the impossible, unfair roller coaster of facing a day without them.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Genius and Heartbreaking. July 9, 2012

By JennyLou

Format:Kindle Edition|Amazon Verified Purchase

This book is so funny, so witty, so smartly-written which makes it even more capable of completely breaking your heart. Pamie manages to write life and women with so much depth and reality, and this is my favorite book of hers yet. Do not think this will be a light-hearted summer romp book, but you must read it and buy a copy for the best friend/sister in your life.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars a beautifully written, laugh through the tears novel July 5, 2012

By Liz

Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase

Not a book to read at the beach this summer - splotchy skin and red eyes won't mix well with sunscreen and pi'a coladas! But this is such an engaging read, with characters you'll want to have come over and visit, and a story of heartbreaking love that surprises you on every page.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars PERFECT July 5, 2012

By Elisabeth Longmire

Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase

I loved this book so much! I NEVER read "chick lit" but I had to read this one, because I love the author's website and have been a fan of her writing for years. I was not disappointed! It is so good! The voice of Danny was so real and the dialogue sounded like how people actually talk, and Smidge's Louisiana accent was written out perfectly, when she insists Danny do the things she asks because if she doesn't "I will haunchoo" (Haunt you) it was perfect! It made me miss all of my southern friends. I laughed out loud through the first 3/4 of it and then cried a lot at the end. It was everything I wanted in a summer read.

4 of 5 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Emotionally exhausting, in the best possible way July 13, 2012

By SGrantham

Format:Kindle Edition|Amazon Verified Purchase

I honestly didn't know if I would like this book or not..."chick lit", as this has been called, is not usually written for 38 year old men. But I bought the book anyway in order to support the author, whose work I have been enjoying online for free for around a decade. But, wow...this book tore me up, in a great way.

It hit me on so many different levels, mainly as the father of two teenage girls and someone whose family has been through the process of saying goodbye to someone way too early due to cancer. Ultimately, though, it's a book about friendship and the process of saying goodbye, and those topics and experiences are universal.

I read the entire book in one day...it's a great read due to the author's almost conversational style of writing and the constant humor and relatability. It's cliche to say "I laughed, I cried...", but: I laughed, I cried. And I will be buying a hard copy of the book to pass around (until Amazon figures out a way to let us Kindle owners share!)

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Loved it October 6, 2012

By J. Schuyler

Format:Kindle Edition

I loved this so much. I loved it. I loved it. I loved everything about it. Everything. I LOVED this. It was moving and funny and brilliant and I just . . . I loved this. It was incredible and smart and packed with funny little details that made it a tremendously (hold me for saying this) RICH reading experience.

I loved this so much, I'm not even sure how to articulate it. I just did. It was predictable -- I mean, you know what happens, right from the get-go -- but the experience of getting there was unforgettable.

I loved this book, and I am a picky, picky reader.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars No words... September 7, 2012

By CreativeStartDesign

Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase

I've ready the author's blog for many, many years and have always enjoyed her books. I wouldn't classify this as generic "chick lit" because I think it appeals to a broad range of readers. This book is definitely going to make you cry, so I would recommend not reading it on a plane like I did. I got a few weird looks...

A lot of reviewers have said that Smidge was an abrasive and annoying character but I actually loved her. She was written so well and really made the story believable. The premise of the book would have never worked without her forceful personality.

Having lost two people very, very close to me to cancer I can honestly say without a doubt that Ribon managed to describe those last few days perfectly. I laughed, I cried and it reminded me of everything I went through in my own life. It was an emotional ride for me and would be for anyone who has had to watch someone they love leave the world too early because of such a horrible disease.

I also want to thank the author for giving Smidge lung cancer. I know that sounds horrible but lung cancer has such a stigma attached to it. People forget that you don't have to be a smoker to get it and will go as far to say that "they probably deserved it." One of the most heart breaking things that I think I found in the book was when Smidge was upset that Jenny would now be that child that lost her Mom to *gasp* lung cancer and that people would assume Smidge was a smoker that could have prevented her early death. It's books like these that will help people understand that not everyone who gets lung cancer was a pack a day smoker with a death wish.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent Read August 14, 2012

By Julia Pitau

Format:Paperback

An excellent read filled with examples of what a person is willing to undertake for the ones they love. Warning: Be ready to have your heartstrings tugged on.