Hang On

5 Star Review

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Editorial Book Review:

By Anette Engel

Some books about resilience feel like they’re written after everything is already fixed. Hang On doesn’t pretend things are resolved. It stays in that in-between space where you’re not okay, but you’re still moving somehow. That’s what makes it land. It doesn’t try to rush you out of that place, it just sits there with you.

Reading it felt quieter than I expected. Not in a dull way, more like something that lowers the noise a bit. There were moments where I thought “this is too simple,” and then later I caught myself thinking about the same line again. It doesn’t push hard, but it lingers. I found myself reading a few pages, stopping, and just letting it sit instead of rushing through.

The book leans into the idea that survival doesn’t always look strong. Sometimes it’s just not giving up on the day in front of you. There’s also this underlying acceptance that you won’t always understand what’s happening while you’re in it. That idea hit more than I expected. It feels less like advice and more like permission to not have answers.

Nell Gavin’s writing is very direct, almost stripped back. No big metaphors or heavy explanations. At times it feels repetitive, but that actually mirrors what it’s like to deal with difficult thoughts that don’t just disappear. The structure feels loose, like a series of moments rather than a clear path, which fits what the book is trying to do.

By the end, it doesn’t leave you with a plan. It leaves you with a feeling that maybe you don’t need one right now. It’s worth reading if you’re in a place where everything feels uncertain and you just need something that doesn’t pretend otherwise.

About the Author

Nell Gavin

Nell Gavin was raised in Chicago, then moved to Texas where she married and raised two sons. She now lives in Michigan. She spent several years as a technical writer, and also worked as a software product manager for a number of years before that. Her writing debut, "Threads: The Reincarnation of Anne Boleyn," was a William Faulkner finalist for best novel. Her second novel, "Hang On," was awarded the silver medal for the Living Now Book Awards. Her most recent novel, "The Historian Project," was a Next Generation Indie Book Awards finalist for fiction.