Becky Chambers wrote this book while she was grieving the death of her brother. In the acknowledgements, she shares that she had to throw another book she was working on and almost gave up on this one because she felt so sad and lost.
Then she wrote As You Wake: A touching, beautiful, heartfelt exploration of love and loss on a planet with a screwed up government where it rains acid all the time. This book absolutely gutted me, and filled me with wonder and hope at the same time. Its funny. It’s so sad. It’s also full of hope and love and life.
Also, if you love weird alien animals. You’re going to love the Rorqual, Colibri- a sentient space-flying creature that's 150% heart. If I could be a Rorqual pilot, I would train for that right now, today.
This book is such a gift to all of us, but especially to those who are going through a hard time. If you lost someone. If you’re struggling with a breakup. If your heart is broken because our beautiful world is going to hell in a hand basket- Read this. Read all of it, even the weird poetry style parts. And yes, you’re going to cry. Because that’s part of healing a broken heart.
