Book Description
Despite childhood trauma and tragedy, Kai Martin has never given up, rising from devastation to rebuild her life over and over again, in this inspiring story of strength and resilience.
Kai sees her life as a series of concentric circles—her twin brother Kade occupying the center sphere with her, their parents surrounding them in the next, and the Tyler family in the outer loop, a connection Kai plans to make official by someday marrying Josh Tyler. The Martins and Tylers share memorable times together, but under the surface, they are two dysfunctional families struggling with alcoholism, depression, and abuse, all of which leads to a horrifying event that knocks Kai off her axis and makes her doubt everything she thought she knew.
Josh is there through it all, and Kai eventually gets the romance she dreamed of, embarking on a life of travel and adventure with the boy she always loved. Yet reality is more complicated than any childhood fantasy, and when painful family patterns are reenacted between them, Kai must decide how much of herself she is willing to sacrifice for Josh.
Ultimately, Kai must confront the heartbreaking truth that as much as we try to help the people we love, we can only truly save ourselves.
Praise for the Book
“A heartbreaking yet uplifting story of the perils found in all families. LaBarbera deftly shows how childhood wounds and mental health challenges impact adult relationships. Protagonist Kai’s struggles will resonate with readers, as will the resilient human spirit that allows her to find hope, to overcome, and to grow into an ever-better version of herself.”
– Robert Dugoni, critically acclaimed New York Times, Wall Street Journal, Washington Post and #1 Amazon bestselling author of the Tracy Crosswhite police series, which has sold more than 8 million books worldwide and the coming-of-age standalone novel The Extraordinary Life of Sam Hell
“In All I Know, Kai’s heartbreaking journey asks us to confront big questions about family and personal trauma: What happens when the people we love hurt each other? How does that shape our relationships with others and with ourselves? How do we move forward when we can’t forget the past? LaBarbera’s characters are as funny as they are flawed, and I couldn’t look away from their struggles to love each other as much as I loved each of them.”
– Claire Boyles, author of Site Fidelity, 2022 Whiting Award Winner in Fiction and Longlisted for the 2022 PEN America/Robert W. Bingham Prize for Debut Short Story Collections.
“A tender, thoughtful and heartbreaking story, ALL I KNOW is a snapshot of the inner heart. You will fall in love with Kai, a child struggling to decipher the complicated messages that come our way in route to adulthood. It’s raw, it’s real, and it’s compelling through and through.””
– Lee Kravetz, author of the novel The Last Confessions of Sylvia P. as well as acclaimed nonfiction, Strange Contagion and SuperSurvivors
“All I Know captures one woman’s heart-wrenching journey in coming to terms with her past, the trials of two, close-knit families increasingly caught in the web of addiction, and the ongoing struggle to overcome a heartbreaking loss. At its core, it is also a gripping tale of an epic love rooted in childhood, the quest to overcome mutual demons, and the courage to transcend dependency to embrace the possibilities of a new kind of love reborn of mutual respect, resilience, and humility. Readers will root for Kai (and Josh) every step of the way!”
– Susan Dugan, author of the short story collection, Safe Haven
Holly C. LaBarbera
“So much of life is determined by the interplay of luck and effort. Writing has been like that for me.
My characters feel like they exist in some magical otherworld, whispering their stories to me. The inspiration is a gift, while the writing process requires work. I hope I have told their tales well, and that you enjoy reading about the slices of their lives.”
Holly C. LaBarbera
“So much of life is determined by the interplay of luck and effort. Writing has been like that for me.
My characters feel like they exist in some magical otherworld, whispering their stories to me. The inspiration is a gift, while the writing process requires work. I hope I have told their tales well, and that you enjoy reading about the slices of their lives.”
Blog
Back to Writing…Again
One year ago today, All I Know was published. I proclaimed myself a writer. I felt like a writer. And then I kind of stopped writing. Writers write. That’s what I’ve heard and said many times. The thing that defines someone as a writer is the act of writing. Come to think [...]
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Embracing the New Year
I love a new year! I love setting goals, making lists, organizing a new planner, setting intentions, formulating a plan of action. I am always hopeful that I will achieve my goals. I never actually do accomplish them all, but I almost always accomplish some of them. I print them out and [...]
