I ll see you again book

Average rating 3.93  · 

 ·  3,875 ratings  ·  400 reviews

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I am a sucker for a story of triumph over tragedy, so I grabbed this book from the shelf, wholeheartedly expecting to fall into a world of despair and pain, tears, then hope and joy.

While the author certainly told us ABOUT those feelings, I felt not a one of them. I shed not one tear. Barely lifted my lips in a minuscule smile. Let out not one shout of laughter. For someone as emotional as I, this is unusual and disappointing. Most of the book was a "why me" scream. Mrs. Hance used her grief to

I went to high school with Jackie, and our families went to the same small, Roman Catholic Church growing up. Our town was teeny and even though Jackie was a year younger, everyone knew everyone else. Because of that small-town connection, which will never-ever go away, this book deeply, deeply touched me.

It is devastating to know it is a true story. It is heart-wrenching to read the story of a person that you care about, and "hear" the raw pain in their words. All I want to do is hug Jackie an

This book is about raw grief. It is not a journalist's look into how and why the accident happened -- it is written by the mother who lost 3 girls, a sister in law, and a niece in the accident. It vaguely mentions the other family who lost their lives - I am going to give the benefit of the doubt to the mother and guess this was due to legal reasons rather than a lack of compassion. People grieve very differently and there is no right or wrong way to do it. It is personal and raw and horrific. I ...more

I'll See You Again

3 / 5

I have to be honest: I didn't finish this book. I read maybe half of it. I couldn't understand why it was difficult for me to finish when it got such rave reviews. I just found this from a fellow Goodreader:

"It is difficult to review the story without coming across as unsympathetic, however a little self-pity goes a long way and Ms. Hance indulges in nearly 288 pages of it."

That. Exactly that. It's why I can't finish this book. The story is awful and you feel for the Hance

It seems that some of the people that gave this book a low rating had unrealistic expectations that it would somehow provide details and answers about the crash. That is not what this book is about. It is an account of a woman who went through a horrific amount of emotional pain.

Some are complaining that she was throwing a pity party and taking it out on her husband. I am shocked at the lack of compassion. This is a heart wrenching story and Jackie is completely transparent throughout. It would

I was expecting a book that provided answers to the accident that took Jackie Hance's three young daughters. So many questions. How could a seemingly wonderful person (Diane) guzzle vodka and smoke pot and then get behind the wheel of a van full of kids and kill them by driving the wrong way on the Taconic Pky? Not only that, but she ended the lives of three men in another car as well. How could Diane's husband not notice anything was amiss when she got behind the wheel? How could no one who enc ...more

I saw the HBO documentary, "There's Something Wrong With Aunt Diane" and was so appalled at the behavior of her husband and sister-in-law to not accept the medical evidence of alcohol and drugs in Diane's system and their unwillingness to accept the fact that this tragedy was another example of driving while under the influence. I was also curious as to the lack of participation by the Hance family, although I can hardly blame them. How does one ever possibly get past such a tragedy as to lose a ...more

I won Jackie Hance's poignant story of the tragic death of her three daughters and its devastating after effect from Goodreads Giveaways. "I'll See You Again" is the story of Emma, Alyson, and Katie who die in a horrific accident that shatters the life of their grief-stricken parents. Torn apart by medical findings that incriminate Diane, Warren's sister as the cause of the accident, Jackie's marriage and their family's closeness begins to disintegrate. In prose and dialogue Jackie Hance candidl ...more

A Beautifully written story despite such a gut wrenching tragedy.

I'm drawn to stories about human tragedy. I followed this story very closely in the news, and when I saw the mom had written a book about it I read it at the first chance.

There's no arguing Jackie Hance went through one of the worst things imaginable (and my very worst fear in life): outliving a child. Her THREE children died in a car wreck, along with their cousin and drunk aunt.

However, this book was pretty terrible. I found the mom to be an entitled, spoiled, rich WASP with little regard for

No one should have to live through a tragedy like the one that befell Jackie and Warren Hance. The Hance's three young daughters were killed when their Aunt Diane drove the car they were riding in two miles the wrong way on the Taconic Parkway crashing into another car and killing the two people in that car. Eight people were killed in this crash. The only survivor was Diane's young son. The author recounts her suffering in great detail. Her suffering and, it seems, mostly hers alone. While it i ...more

This is a very difficult review to write because the book isn’t particularly well written, yet part of me wants to excuse that fact because no one should expect it to be. Jackie Hance is not an author; however, she is a mother who lost all three of her children in a horrific car accident, caused by her sister-in-law, Diane. A sister-in-law whom she’d never seen drinking or using drugs, yet this same woman crashed head on with a vehicle after driving 80 mph up the wrong side of a highway and, it’ ...more

First let me warn that this book is heavy read. Jackie's honesty was so profound and so painful that I found myself finding it difficult to read. Yet, the need to see that the this couple get some sort of happily ever after, pushed me to read it in a single day. Of course, after losing all three of their beautiful girls, happily ever after is simply an illusion. No matter how much they heal, the absence of Emma, Alyson and Katie will always be felt -how could it not? Through Jackie, we meet thre ...more

I have the same complaints as most of the other critical reviews. Otherwise, I have to say I totally expected the author to have some big religious awakening before the end. I was surprised to see the book end with her statement of Stoic wisdom. "I knew better than anyone how little influence we have over the direction our lives take. Whether you call it destiny or fate or the randomness of the universe, some things happen for reasons we can't begin to understand. Trying to exert control over th ...more

Ok -- I don't like rating someone's harrowing memoir but...there you have it.

The grief is raw, the self exposure seems unflinching but (and I feel like an animal saying this!) I didn't like the narrator. As the book went on I liked her less and less.

I'm sorry.

I kept putting off reading this for the sheer sadness of it,but I'm glad I finally did. A great read with a lot of good lessons and reflections on life and family, I found it more inspiring than depressing. Sure, it was sad; yes, I definitely cried intermittently throughout the book; but I can't deny that I appreciate every day with my daughter more now that I understand that the Hances were just like any other family, and tragedy can befall anyone at any time.

It was definitely clear that Jacki

This was a hard book to read. Based on the title, I was really anticipating something more hopeful than what I read. The entire book chronicles her grief in tedious detail--to the exclusion of all others (including her husband). I was thinking at the very least by the end of the book she would express remorse over her abusive treatment towards her husband, but Mrs. Hance came across as seeming as though she was entitled to behave in atrocious ways towards those around her for years. She treated ...more

The first time I read about this story in PEOPLE magazine, I was both stunned and heartbroken. An Aunt took her nieces on a weekend camping trip and the most tragic of accidents had happened leaving nine people dead and a mother with no more children. I couldn't even begin to understand the devastation Mrs. Hance must have been feeling.

Then, a few years later HBO released the documentary, THERE'S SOMETHING WRONG WITH AUNT DIANE. I watched that entire documentary with tears flooding down my face

I wish I had read the reviews prior to picking up the audio version of this book. Frankly, I picked it up because of the picture of the three adorable girls on the cover. The title did give me a clue about what the book would be about but it did not prepare me for Jackie Hance.

I cannot imagine the grief and heartache she and her husband experienced over the loss of their three daughters. However, from the book I gather that not only did her husband lose his three daughters but he lost his wife a

I was disappointed in this book and maybe expected it to be a little different than it was. Without sounding cruel or cold hearted I found it to get a little irritating about half way through. This book does explain the accident and gives you glimpses into the 3 sisters backgrounds but otherwise it is just a long dragged out story about how the mother reacted. My irritation with the book was solely due to how Jackie Hance continued on with the poor me and no other person has ever had anything ba ...more

Wow - it's a bit of a tense read this book, as I wasn't sure where we were going to end up. Jackie Hance is a young mother, who is spending the weekend with her husband, while her children go camping with her sister in-law. On the way home, all three of her daughers, her sister in-law and niece, as well as three people in the other car are killed in a horrific accident.

Jackies grief is just palpable in the writing, it made me feel all of her pain, which you can totally understand. She is lucky t

This is a difficult story to read. The tragedy at its core is so heartrending. I'm not sure as a mother, I could imagine a worse nightmare, or as an author who writes fiction of a darker turn, I could write something so horrific i.e. even live with it on fictional terms. But Jackie Hance lived it for real. And the story she tells with the writing help of Janice Kaplan is absolutely incredible. Her loss and her husband's loss was so horrific and brutal, but they fought their way through it with s ...more

First, I read A LOT! A wide variety of books, non fiction and fiction alike. I had heard the story and a friend recommended this book to me. Honestly, it was a huge waste of time. I am a mother and I too love my children dearly. I cannot imagine the loss of one of them and all of them unfathomable. BUT this story came across as very me me me... Everyone should be fortunate enough to have friends in their lives who are so devoted. I really felt like she did NOT truly appreciate their friends and ...more

This story was in the news a few years ago (The author's sister-in-law drives wrong way on Taconic Pkwy and kills herself, one of her children and her three nieces, plus 3 others...turns out she was way-out-of-character high/drunk).. and of course you think how can the mother of the 3 girls survive such a tragedy. This is the story of how she almost doesn't, but then does. It is not an easy read because of the topic, because it's true, and because it's told by the mom who lived it. But it's a go ...more

I absolutely loved this book. I don't know if it was me being nosey or what, but I always wondered what happened to all the families affected by this horrific tragedy. I couldn't wait for this book to come out and I bought it immediately and read it in two days. I felt so bad for Jackie and Warren throughout the whole book and I also grieved the little precious girls who I felt like I met through this beautiful memoir. Jackie is a devoted mother who will never be the same but luckily ended up be ...more

4 1/2 stars - Really good. First of all I don't know how the mom got through this tragedy at all. Losing three kids at once is unfathomable. Secondly, I don't know if I could stay married to my husband if his sister killed all of my kids because she was drunk/high. I know it wouldn't be his fault, but it would be hard to deal with. I commend her for getting through it and making their relationship work. ...more

Okay book. Very sad story and a terrible tragedy but the author is so consumed by her own grief that she has forgotten that her husband also lost three daughters and in a way his wife as well. Jackie is very lucky that her husband, girlfriends and family all supported her when all she wanted to do was die and be with her girls. I would be interested to read Jackie's husbands side of the story and how he coped through all his grief. ...more

This book was heartbreaking. Jackie tells the story of how she lost her 3 beautiful girls in a tragic car accident along with her sister-in-law and niece. She shares her feelings of courage and strength of how she coped with the tragic loss. While reading the Acknowledgments at the end of the book I was crying. Jackie leaves some great advice for others who have lost loved ones in a tragic way.

After participating in the Beautiful Me Program and hearing the girls father, Warren, speak I read this memoir. It gives a voice to people facing traffic death of loved ones. This book is so real that I could just begin to feel the reality if thus family for a few moments. I liked that it was honest and raw with emotion.