Someday, Maybe is the story of Eve, a woman who just found out her husband unalived himself on New Year’s Eve. To be precise, she discovers his dead body and her life is forever altered. Eve plunges into a deep, dark depression, trying to navigate her grief and learning to live with her loss. Few months after his death, Eve realizes she was left a parting gift. Eve also has to navigate a mother-in-law from hell who blames her for her son’s death.

‘Not all losses are equal. Some feel bigger than others. Insurmountable.’

Onyi Nwabineli from Someday, Maybe

This story was so raw- grief and sorrow so tangible that it made me cry. Some readers may find this book too haunting, but I thoroughly enjoyed Onyi’s exposition into how vast and encompassing grief can be. I have never lost a loved one but the writing draws you into the jaws of death and the bloody aftermath you’re left with. I truly felt involved in Eve’s mourning. 

More than anything, I enjoyed the display of community that held up Eve. Her family and friends were incredible, supportive and firm when they needed to be.

The subject matter of ‘Someday, Maybe’ is very heavy. However, the writing makes it all worth. The author manages to capture your attention and keep you grieving with Eve till the end. It was a harrowing, but necessary read I enjoyed. I cried multiple times as Eve described the love she lost. Us readers are enveloped in the emotions and questions Eve and her family are unraveling as she attempts to make sense of what she presumed was a happy life for herself and her husband.

And truly, I wanted to know why too. The author never reveals any conclusive answers on why he killed himself. In that sense, ‘Someday, Maybe’ greatly reflects real life- there is sometimes no answer to the hardship we suffer.

‘Grief makes you believe you are special, it’s one and only; like it is not careening around destroying millions of lives everyday and is devoting all its unwanted attention on you.’

Onyi Nwabineli from Someday, Maybe

Stories like this remind me to hold my loved ones closer- to spend time having inconsequential   conversations with my friends, to tell my parents I’m grateful for them and to remind my boyfriend I love him at least 5 times a day. A lot of readers criticized the story as being repetitive in Eve’s grief but I found it realistic.

This is a touching story of loss, forgiveness, healing and family. I enjoyed Onyi Nwabineli’s debut work and it’s a promising sign of things to come.

Books with similar themes:

‘Notes on Grief’ by Chimamanda Adichie

‘Crying in the H-mart’ by Michelle Zauner

‘From Scratch: A Memoir of Love, Sicily, and Finding Home’ by Tembi Locke