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Digging In: A Novel Kindle Edition

4.2 out of 5 stars 21,576 ratings

In Loretta Nyhan’s warm and witty Amazon Charts bestselling novel, a widow discovers an unexpected chance to start over—right in her own backyard.

Paige Moresco found her true love in eighth grade—and lost him two years ago. Since his death, she’s been sleepwalking through life, barely holding on for the sake of her teenage son. Her house is a wreck, the grass is overrun with weeds, and she’s at risk of losing her job. As Paige stares at her neglected lawn, she knows she’s hit rock bottom. So she does something entirely unexpected: she begins to dig.

As the hole gets bigger, Paige decides to turn her entire yard into a vegetable garden. The neighbors in her tidy gated community are more than a little alarmed. Paige knows nothing about gardening, and she’s boldly flouting neighborhood-association bylaws. But with the help of new friends, a charming local cop, and the transformative power of the soil, Paige starts to see potential in the chaos of her life. Something big is beginning to take root—both in her garden and in herself.

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Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Nyhan (All the Good Parts) transforms nervous energy into healing, productive work in this endearingly quirky novel about a woman grappling with the loss of her husband and trying to keep her life together for the sake of her son, Trey. Once taking great pride in her appearance, career, and home, Paige Moresco let herself go after her husband died in a car accident two years earlier. Now her wardrobe, her position at the boutique ad agency where she works, her relationship with Trey, and, especially, her shabby yard are all in need of desperate repair. Frustrated with the neighbors’ complaints about her yard, she takes a shovel and begins digging up the weeds. Discovering how good it feels to work out her frustration in the dirt, she digs each night until she has dug up her entire yard—to the chagrin of the entire neighborhood. With the help of new friends, Paige decides to turn her yard into a garden and, in the process, begins to heal herself as well. Emotional yet funny, the book will have readers rooting for Paige and her new tomato plants the whole way. Confronting grief, change, and a new way of being, Nyhan’s lovely story captures the rejuvenating power of hard work that can start right in the backyard.

Review

“Endearingly quirky…Emotional yet funny…Confronting grief, change, and a new way of being, Nyhan’s lovely story captures the rejuvenating power of hard work that can start right in the backyard.” Publishers Weekly

“Charming…Nyhan has fun with a bubbly satire of business culture.” Kirkus Reviews

“On the surface, this is a sweet novel about aging, grief, and redemption. But Nyhan (All the Good Parts, 2016), who has experienced loss herself, shares very insightful observations. She reminds readers that comfort and hope can come in the most unexpected encounters if the heart is open.” Booklist

“For the two years since her husband’s death, Paige has been concentrating on putting one foot in front of the other…Nyhan uses details from her own personal tragedy to harness the pain, tenderness, and empowerment of Paige’s transformation in Digging In.” —Associated Press

“A warm story of new beginnings and getting over loss…This is a powerful and uplifting story.” Parkersburg News and Sentinel

“Full of life, vitality, and humor, the messy side of life, the things that aren’t pretty…Wise, witty, and affecting.” Novelgossip

“[Loretta Nyhan’s] novels are emotional for sure, but they still manage to deal with tough themes in an upbeat and hilarious way…By the end of the book, you’re left in a place of healthy, hopeful bliss, a place only Nyhan could take us to.” —The Suspense is Thrilling Me

“This is a vision of love, hope, and pressing onward even when it doesn’t seem possible…Highly recommended.” USA Today’s Happy Ever After

“A compelling blend of grief, humor, and change, Digging In by Loretta Nyhan is an impressively original and entertaining read from cover to cover.” —Midwest Book Review

“Nyhan has done it again! Her characters captivate and her gift for vivid prose shines in this roller coaster of a tale. My hope is that it leaps from the page to the big screen! Any reader with a heart won’t want it to end!” —Nicole Waggoner, author of Center Ring and The Act

“I want to scream my love for this book from the rooftops. What a delightful, funny, authentic, wise story about the healing power of gardening and the struggle to root yourself in the untilled land of grief. With a full cast of unique characters, Digging In is a must-read for anyone seeking pure entertainment.” —Barbara Claypole White, bestselling author of The Perfect Son

“I loved this one! Tender and sweet and hilarious. Packed full of wise moments, with a fresh take on what it is to experience grief. The characters seemed so lifelike I caught myself considering Googling one of them to see what she was up to in her life now! Hilarious take on split-generation offices—hipsters vs the shoulder pad brigade. Recommend this read to anyone.” —Virginia Franken, author of Life After Coffee

Digging In is the loveliest novel. The title is perfect—a metaphor for digging deep. It is the story of a woman who has been brought to her knees by the loss of her husband, the love of her life. Now absolutely everything is on the line, her job, her relationship with her teenage son, and her will to live, hangs in the balance. The unique and surprising—even to her—ways she recovers had me turning the pages, and yet I wanted to linger. In her own inimitable warm, witty, and compassionate style, Loretta Nyhan has written a wise and poignant story of recovery from grief. I loved this book.” —Barbara Taylor Sissel, author of The Truth We Bury and Faultlines

Product details

  • ASIN ‏ : ‎ B071GYV5D4
  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ Lake Union Publishing
  • Publication date ‏ : ‎ April 1, 2018
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • File size ‏ : ‎ 2.4 MB
  • Screen Reader ‏ : ‎ Supported
  • Enhanced typesetting ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • X-Ray ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • Word Wise ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • Print length ‏ : ‎ 254 pages
  • ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1542097291
  • Page Flip ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.2 out of 5 stars 21,576 ratings

About the author

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Loretta Nyhan
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Loretta Nyhan lives in the Chicago area with her Brady Bunch blended family. THE NEW PERSON is her seventh novel. Previous titles include THE OTHER FAMILY, the bestselling DIGGING IN, ALL THE GOOD PARTS, HOME FRONT GIRLS, EMPIRE GIRLS, and her novel for young adults, THE WITCH COLLECTOR.

Customer reviews

4.2 out of 5 stars
21,576 global ratings

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Customers say

Customers find this novel well-written and heartwarming, particularly appreciating how it explores grief and change through the main character's emotional development. The book is humorous throughout, with customers noting they laughed and absorbed the content, and they find it amazingly believable with real-life circumstances. Customers find the book thought-provoking, with one mentioning it provides helpful ideas, though opinions on the ending are mixed, with some finding it hopeful while others find it contrived. The pacing receives mixed reactions, with some saying it moves nicely while others find the first half slow.

AI-generated from the text of customer reviews

732 customers mention "Heartwarming story"729 positive3 negative

Customers find this novel heartwarming, with many noting its profound and strangely uplifting moments that explore grief and change in an extremely relatable way.

"...Each connection was organic and profound. I give Digging In an enthusiastic ☕☕☕☕☕ because this was just a great story - a human story." Read more

"...I liked it because it was enjoyable seeing the friendships and relationships blossom and I believe Paige's garden was a metaphor for her life...." Read more

"...It becomes a really interesting look at how grief and change, while painful, can also lead to growth and discovery...." Read more

"...It also shows the similarities between life and your work and none should be taken to seriously." Read more

631 customers mention "Character development"595 positive36 negative

Customers appreciate the character development in the book, finding them interesting and perfectly likable, with the main character's emotional journey being particularly engaging.

"...Nyhan writes with a depth of emotion that is cathartic and creates believable characters and scenarios that allow the reader to thrive within the..." Read more

"...The writing was smart and the eclectic group of characters made for an entertaining read...." Read more

"...In the end, enjoyable and interesting, with unexpectedly good character development. I bought this audiobook." Read more

"...Paige is completely relatable and her manner of dealing with grief is perfectly plausible...." Read more

615 customers mention "Readability"581 positive34 negative

Customers find the book well written and entertaining, with one customer describing it as mesmerizing as a good who-done-it.

"...This novel was well-written and I recommend it if you enjoy contemporary, humorous fiction!" Read more

"...There are good messages about not judging others when you don’t know their circumstances, the importance of community and doing your best...." Read more

"...Nor does she know how to fix her own. This book is extremely well-written and humorous throughout...." Read more

"...Paige is so honestly and authentically written, you can't not root for her...." Read more

393 customers mention "Humor"378 positive15 negative

Customers enjoy the book's humor, describing it as a tender yet funny story filled with laugh-out-loud moments.

"...There's some lovely wit interspersed within the family drama. Paige is overwhelmed, as anyone would be, trying to keep her life together...." Read more

"...The writing was smart and the eclectic group of characters made for an entertaining read...." Read more

"...The tone is an unusual combination of thoughtful, witty, kind, and truthful. The characters are complex people that I cared about and could believe...." Read more

"...It’s sad but hopeful. Like me." Read more

193 customers mention "Believable"166 positive27 negative

Customers find the book believable, noting it contains real-life circumstances and can be related to personal experiences.

"...of emotion that is cathartic and creates believable characters and scenarios that allow the reader to thrive within the lives of all the personas..." Read more

"...I'm glad I did! This was a fun, contemporary novel with a lot of heart, some smiles, some laughs, some sorrow, and some romance...." Read more

"...The tone is an unusual combination of thoughtful, witty, kind, and truthful. The characters are complex people that I cared about and could believe...." Read more

"Such a good book! The author creates characters that are amazingly believable, almost like someone you know...." Read more

169 customers mention "Thought provoking"169 positive0 negative

Customers find the book thought-provoking, with one customer noting its light-hearted approach to self-discovery and another mentioning its helpful messages about reinventing oneself.

"...This is a smart, entertaining book that never gets sassy and deals with adult issues just as we would experience them: with humor, anger, straight-..." Read more

"...I love the down to earth qualities this author gives her characters. They are perfectly flawed human beings...." Read more

"...As a gardener also I enjoyed the correlations between life and gardening...." Read more

"...careful and not taking risks isn't always the best option, are very well thought out...." Read more

308 customers mention "Ending"190 positive118 negative

Customers have mixed opinions about the ending of the book, with some finding it hopeful and satisfying, while others describe it as contrived and having a strange storyline.

"This book takes you on a story of love and forgiveness...." Read more

"...The ending is just too pat, bordering on sappy and preachy, keeping it from being a better book. I also like to have a sense of place in a book...." Read more

"...The author’s portrayal of grief and her discussion of radical change is insightful...." Read more

"I loved this quirky, offbeat novel!..." Read more

Top reviews from the United States

  • Reviewed in the United States on March 18, 2018
    Digging In by Loretta Nyhan follows the life of Paige Moresco after the loss of her beloved husband Jesse. I'm not giving anything away here - this is in the first few pages of the novel and from the beginning of page one the reader can see Paige is struggling - to hold onto herself, her job, and her relationships with her teenage son, Trey. To add insult to injury, her boss of more than a decade in the advertising firm she works for dies suddenly and his young, hip son takes over the family business. (You can already see the trouble brewing?!?!?)

    Mr. "new boss" has decided that two people need to go and they are going to fight for their jobs - including Paige and Jackie, the mainstays of the company. He says the competition will be fierce to which Paige counters, “Fierce like Beyoncé, or fierce like Vladimir Putin?” There's some lovely wit interspersed within the family drama.

    Paige is overwhelmed, as anyone would be, trying to keep her life together. And one night after her grouchy neighbor comments on her yard going to dandelions, she kind of snaps. She rummages through the pantry, finds a bottle of wine - "I poured the wine and took a sip. Heavenly." and begins to dig. Literally dig up the dandelions and in the process of purging her anger, her sadness, her soul she digs and digs and digs. Now with a giant hole of dirt and nothing to do with it, she takes a chance in her life on gardening - something she's never done before.

    With the help of her friends, her son, and a funky gal she meets at the farmer's market named Mykia that has an entire story of her own, Paige learns to live again - to become who she is now, and let go of who she was then.

    Digging In is a novel of redemption. Of finding your way out of a terrible storm that would pull anyone to their knees. Nyhan writes with a depth of emotion that is cathartic and creates believable characters and scenarios that allow the reader to thrive within the lives of all the personas embedded in this great work. I especially enjoyed the way the writer dealt with grief through a surprise personality that domineers the ending of the book - appropriately. Our instinct is to always say we are sorry when someone else is hurting - and yes, we're sorry they are hurting, but our apology will not help them. Nyhan writes through the verbiage of a character:

    “Then you should ask for a good memory that best describes him or her. Let the grieving person have a moment with that person again.” “Couldn’t that be too painful?” I asked. “It’s all painful. Listening to a hundred people apologize for something they had nothing to do with is excruciating, isn’t it? They can’t reverse anything with their apologies.”

    I loved the developing relationship of Paige and her son, Paige and her boss, Paige and her friends, Paige and her neighbor, Paige and the police officer, Paige and our final character. Each connection was organic and profound.

    I give Digging In an enthusiastic ☕☕☕☕☕ because this was just a great story - a human story.
    2 people found this helpful
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  • Reviewed in the United States on March 6, 2018
    Whenever the First Reads come out each month, I hope that there will be a book that I will enjoy. Sometimes you never know what you'll get because some of the Kindle First/First Reads books are truly good reads and others aren't so good. I browsed through the selections offered this month and chose this one because I was in the mood for a contemporary fiction novel and this one seemed most appealing to me. I'd say this month, I made a good choice!

    Paige Moresco lost her soul mate, Jesse two years ago and she's still swallowed up by grief. She has a tough relationship with her teenage son, Trey and she's at risk for losing the job she's held for 17 years. Paige finds herself digging up her yard, much to the dismay of her snobbish suburban neighbors, which starts her healing process. After she decides to plant a large garden, she learns not only how to grow and care for plants and vegetables, she discovers more about herself and how to move forward with her life.

    After recently finishing this novel, I have to say I think it was a good, enjoyable read! The writing was smart and the eclectic group of characters made for an entertaining read. Yes, there are some somber parts, mostly when Paige thinks and talks about Jesse, but most of it was more lighthearted. There is a lot of humor in this novel, not haha-funny but more witty, sarcastic humor. That's my kind of humor so I definitely "dug it" (see what I did there????)!

    For anyone who wants to know in advance, there are a number of swear words in this book. They aren't on every page but there are enough of them that it would bother someone who doesn't want to read any swear words in their books.

    Overall, I enjoyed this book and felt it was a good choice for this month's read! I liked it because it was enjoyable seeing the friendships and relationships blossom and I believe Paige's garden was a metaphor for her life. This novel was well-written and I recommend it if you enjoy contemporary, humorous fiction!
    80 people found this helpful
    Report

Top reviews from other countries

  • amyalice23
    4.0 out of 5 stars light but not fluffy
    Reviewed in the United Kingdom on April 27, 2018
    This is a deceptively simple story that keeps you reading and, despite the subject matter, is comical. Paige has been a widow for a couple of years and is alone with her teenage son. She's struggling to keep her job or have any interest in life. She lives in a snobby street where neighbours report you if you don't keep your plot up to a good standard. One night Paige in a fit of anger, annoyance and general not coping starts digging up her garden - and finds she cannot stop!
    Meanwhile her boss dies and his son takes over the business but has crazy new ideas which Paige could do without. There are plenty of comical and quirky characters who come into Paige's life and she begins to view what is important in a different way than previously.

    What the author does very well is portraying the loneliness and the feelings of bereavement that have continued despite the time that has passed. Paige is simply not able to 'move on' and is not even sure that she should do so but she has to keep the roof over her head and provide for her son.

    This is a quick, fun read but worth it! (less)
  • Suzy D
    5.0 out of 5 stars Great - I loved this
    Reviewed in Australia on March 3, 2023
    I'm going through a tough time and wanted to read something light but not predictable.
    Loretta has painted a scenario with a
    cast of characters that anyone of us could need to navigate through - and the message is definitely one day at a time, and don't deviate into revenge.
    I laughed and commiserated, will be reading more.
  • CODOMIER LAURENCE
    1.0 out of 5 stars Stopped halfway through
    Reviewed in France on July 31, 2023
    Poorly written, extremely slow (nothing happens …), the heroine goes on and on about her married life before her husband’s death, her grieving, her grumpy neighbour. This thing about the digging spoiling the neighbourhood is rather exaggerated.
    Just couldn’t finish it. Very disappointing. Published by Amazon (probably not good enough to be published elsewhere)…
  • Catherine Maven
    5.0 out of 5 stars Shades of Grief - Including the Pale Blue of a New Dawn
    Reviewed in Canada on March 2, 2020
    Grief comes in many shades. It can be a stabbingly red pain that feels too sharp to survive (much like childbirth, actually). It can be a dull grey ache that colors everything the same shade, that makes you forget that the world actually contains other colors. It can be a black that threatens to drown you, a darkness that makes you want to die and take the world with you. And it can be the crazy orange of a sunrise or sunset, a shade of crazy that nobody would believe if you dared to paint it. The color of "crazy" is one of the themes of this novel - about how one woman's process in dealing with grief looks crazy to her suburban neighbors - and maybe to her son - but is the path that she needs to take in order to be able to move on.

    Digging In” is about a widow named Paige Moresco, who married her high school sweetheart and then lost him many years later – but still too soon – in a car accident. The novel takes place two years after her husband’s death, and focuses on her struggle with her rebellious and sullen teenage son, Trey, and on her terror at accepting the changes in her working life. A woman whose life has been defined by staying “safe”, this novel explores Paige’s process of rebirth through exploring her own “crazy”. In a middle-class suburban neighborhood defined by pristine lawns and a strict social order, Paige gets drunk and digs up her back yard to make a garden.

    She’s never gardened in her life; but then, she’s never been a widow before, either. Neither one makes sense – until it begins to, with the help of a down-to-earth friend, Mykia, who she meets at the farmer’s market that sets up next to her office building in the summers, and with the help of “Officer Leprechaun”, a funny red-haired police officer who is called in by her uptight neighbors to confront her about the horror she had created in her yard (but who is secretly amused by her new obsession). “Tragedy makes permanent changes. Some good, some bad, I suppose,” Paige tells her son, who worries that his mother has lost her mind.

    Nyhan takes us on a weird, intensely personal – but often funny – journey through the pain of grief. She uses quotations from a fictional New Age business guru, Petra Polly, as a framework to understand the hipster business strategies that challenge Paige’s “tried and true” (safe) ways of approaching her job (in advertising) – and that offer insights to Paige – and us! – about new ways to approach our jobs. Similarly, I believe that healing, like the success that Petra Polly promotes, is “like the sun on an overcast summer’s day – you may not be able to see it, but you will be drawn to its warmth. When it envelops the body, true change occurs.”

    I can’t say I “enjoyed” this book. It’s too realistic, too emotionally RAW – for light reading. But I’m GLAD that I read it. I know firsthand that grief comes in all the shades that I first mentioned – but Nyhan reminded me that it also comes in the faintest blue of a new dawn.
  • Kindle Customer
    5.0 out of 5 stars Unexpectedly Good Read
    Reviewed in the United Kingdom on April 12, 2018
    I chose this book as one of the free prime monthly books and as none of the books offered that month particularly appealed to me I chose this one not really expecting much from it. Having read other books about more mature women trying to rebuild their lives and not finding them particularly entertaining I wasn't holding out much hope for this one. However I found myself quite quickly getting into the novel and actually really enjoying it. The humour was subtle and there was a bit of mystery attached. The characters and the writing were good and having last year finally decided to tackle my own overgrown garden I can well understand the self satisfaction and pride the main character felt as it slowly progressed. An all round entertaining read that I have no hesitation in recommending.

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