A Reason To Be

Written by Norman McCombs

Narrated by Adam Grupper

An epic tale beginning in 15th-century Scotland and flowing through time to modern-day New York, A Reason to Be is a tale of loss, hope, and the transcendent power of the love that bind us to one another.

Douglas McCombs is an accomplished engineer and recent widower driven to discover the truth of who he is by studying the people and places he comes from. After losing his wife to a battle with Alzheimer’s, Douglas is left devastated until a chance encounter with a sharp, compassionate librarian named Suzy Hamilton on the steps of the New York Public Library shakes him from the throes of grief.

With Suzy’s help, Douglas takes up genealogy and begins an investigation into his Scottish lineage that takes the reader on a sprawling journey through time and the remarkable lives of Douglas’s ancestors—from legendary highland clan chiefs and American war generals to humble farmers and family men. As he traces his ancestry through the generations, Douglas manages to discover not only the roots he was searching for, but also a brand-new reason to be.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Greenleaf Book Group Audio
• Release date: Sep 29, 2020
• ISBN: 9781626347663

Reviews for A Reason To Be

[marciablnc · Rating: 1 out of 5 stars]

I found this book to be slow in developing. I wasn’t crazy about the story.

[pensivecat · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Douglas McCombs has been waiting out his life since he lost Hope (his wife who had Alzheimer's). A friend of his tries to help him to live again by taking walks with him and encouraging him to resume his ancestry research. In so doing, Douglas meets Suzy Hamilton, a librarian who he falls for (almost literally), and the story splits between his Scottish/Irish/North American ancestors and his relationship with Suzy. In this, he confronts his past in more ways than one.It appears to be a semi-autobiographical novel, and the history mixed in suited me. Anyone who has looked into their ancestry at one point might like this story, though it also explores the fact that not everyone can trace their roots. The story flowed pretty well and was a quick read, but I found it maybe a bit too sentimental and sweet for my tastes, or maybe just my current mood. Suzy is a good character, though presented as too perfect. I suppose in Douglas' eyes that would be true, though he comes across as an unreliable narrator. 3.5/5 stars

[dreesie-1 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

2.5 stars———Thank you to LibraryThing and Greenleaf Book Group for providing me with an ARC of this book.———I requested this book through LibraryThing because the blurb made me think it was right up my alley--a man writing about his genealogy research.Only this is a novel. An autobiographical novel? It is unclear. The author is Norman McComb. The researcher in the book is Douglas McComb. Is Douglas a fictionalized Norman? All proceeds are donated to the Alzheimer's Association--and Douglas-the-protagonist's late wife died of Alzheimer's. But Douglas-the-protagonist realizes his late wife was quite controlling and their lives together always revolved around her. Is that part fiction and why the name is changed? The chapters alternate between stories of Douglas's ancestors--to a level of detail that cannot possibly be known, including feelings and dialogue--and the tale of Douglas's growing romance with a librarian he met while researching. It is all very sweet and sappy and totally not my kind of story.As a genealogist I want to know more about these stories. Are these letters real or made up? Is this dialogue all imaginary? Is ANY of this actual research, an actual line, real people? Why are the women's birth/death dates not included? Why are most of the women given their husband's surnames as their own--that's bad genealogical practice. Even if this is completely fiction, and I truly have no idea.

[donnamariemerritt · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

My heritage is Scots-Irish, so I liked the idea of slipping back through generations into their world as the main character, Douglas, explores his genealogy. And I did enjoy the stories of his ancestors, though it's not clear how anyone would be able to find out as many details of their lives as Douglas somehow does. Yes, he checks out books from the library (my favorite place), but still...In the present day, Douglas is a recent widower who (spoiler alert) falls madly in love with a librarian named Suzy. (It's not really that much of a spoiler alert; it's obvious early on.) But he is so incredibly mushy about it. Suzy is THE. BEST. THING. EVER. And the ending was sappy with an unrealistic monologue that is supposed to tie up all the loose ends, but felt rushed after a book that dragged on without much happening in Douglas's world.A few typos irked me, but I did receive an ARC, so hopefully those were caught. For example, it states that the Seven Years' War began in 1765 (it was 1756) and ended in 1963. Whoops. Where are the copyeditors?In any case, my personal feeling is that it would have been better as a story only about the past, expanding upon the interesting fictional lives of his ancestors. Mixing past and present didn't work well here, at least for me.

[wagner5sarah35 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

*I received this book through LibraryThing Early Reviewers.*An interesting read and one I'm guessing is semi-autobiographical. If genealogy is your thing, this is likely the book for you, as the story is driven by a man's quest for understanding about his family's past. It's a nice story, but I kept wishing for a little more - more plot, more romance, more than just descriptions of male predecessors, more than just idealized women, etc. Overall, I enjoyed this book, but I definitely think it could have been better.

[rosecityreader · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

A Reason to Be is a heartwarming autobiographical novel about love, loss, second chances, and remembering the important things in life. Protagonist Douglas McCombs is depressed after the death of his beloved wife. Librarian Suzy Hamilton helps him with his new genealogy hobby and research into his Scottish heritage. Along the way, Douglas faces past demons and embraces a hope-filled future.

[m.belljackson · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

While there are many enlightening personal patterns that we can explore with the author and be inspired to trace our own genealogy, it is harder to connect with main character, Douglas McCombs. Given his extensive insistence on his eternal love with a wife who seemingly thought only of herself, he comes across a lot less intelligent than his success and accomplishments would indicate. There's a big disconnect here which is never explained even when he falls in love with a kinder, more generous, and accomplished woman.Also odd is why he thinks that a pursuit of his ancestors will bring him closer to his own truth is mysterious.As well is the over-emphasis on being rich.It would be great if a sequel brought them on a long journey to Scotland with their Afican American and maybe Scottish adopted son or daughter.