Silver Linings Playbook by Matthew Quick

After spending time in a neural rehab facility, 34 year old Pat Peoples returns home with hopes of getting his life back together.  Pat is convinced that if he works out enough and reads enough classic literature, his wife will return to him.  Pat refers to their separation as "apart time" and is thoroughly convinced that it will soon come to an end.  Now living with his parents, things don't turn out quite like Pat planned. His family refuses to talk about his wife and he doesn't understand how so many things (i.e. the Eagles' football stadium being blown up) could have happened in the few short months he was away.  Pat eventually meets Tiffany, an eccentric woman who has experienced her own share of pain and sadness.  Tiffany convinces Pat that entering a dance competition with her will surely cause his wife to return to him.  

My Thoughts: 
Silver Linings Playbook is an excellent novel.  I actually saw the movie before I knew anything about the book and was so intrigued by it that I had to read the book as well. The book was even better than the movie, mostly because, as the reader, I was allowed inside Pat's head.  Pat's brain injury causes him to have many issues and reading the story from his perspective allowed me to understand him so much more.  While this book deals with a very serious subject, it is also hilarious.  The people in Pat's life are often difficult and their lives messy, but they are also what pulls him through in the end.