Book Review: Made Again

By Sara Steven

Sara is a shy divorced woman who wants to take a chance at finding love. Brad is a world traveler who was a trapeze artist, a commercial diver on oil rigs, and a US Border Patrol agent. In a time before Match.com or Tinder, one internet personal ad brings them together, and Sara's once quiet life is never the same.

In this memoir, follow the true love story about how ''the most interesting man in the world'' shows Sara all the adventure that is waiting for her. From their days of online dating to their time as a military family facing a deployment to Afghanistan, Sara and Brad's modern-day love letters show the heartbeat of their relationship as Sara is ''made again.'' (Synopsis courtesy of Goodreads)

There was real-time nostalgia to Made Again, set before online dating sites and Tinder. A pioneering vibe to the way that Sara and Brad meet up, with an online personal ad. It was interesting to get so much of their backstory, the actual conversations emailed between both characters, so that we’re able to better understand how this love story came to be. It was a simple method that spoke volumes on where they are and the time during which all of this takes place, shortly after 9/11.

I appreciated the honesty where the military life is concerned. Having lived that myself several years ago, I could identify with so much of what Sara experiences, and the way it feels to be separated from your loved one for long periods of time. We get to see what that is like from both Sara’s and Brad’s perspectives, in letters they’d send to one another during deployments and while Brad was in training. The trials he goes through, it’s a heart twister, and the support he seeks from his wife and family, it’s inspiring. I liked how, even with all the struggles distance can bring, they are a huge support to one another, while they count down the days until they can be together again.

There are no real timelines set in place for how quickly you develop feelings for someone. The tender moments shared between Sara and Brad would often escalate, and then back off, true to the kind of progression made in relationships, in “real life”. Feeling one another out, hesitant at first, wanting to be careful and not wanting to make the other person feel at odds. From start to finish, Made Again is all about the honest realities between two people who embark on a journey, one that isn’t always easy, but one that is uplifting and very touching.

Thanks to Sara Stackpoole for the book in exchange for an honest review.