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A Love Song for Bobby Long has been my favorite movie since I first watched it, which made reading this book scary, for fear that it would ruin the movie for me. At first the fact that there is a good bit of difference between the storylines bothered me, but there are enough similarities to make it feel comfortable.

My love for these characters comes from their deeply flawed and broken, yet not quite devoid souls. Their own drinking and perversion never ceased, their careers and social standing are never redeemed yet they are able to inspire and play a major role in a beautiful new beginning for a lost young soul. I was left thinking that nothing really changed externally with Bobby and Byron or even with how they communicated, but that a major shift occurred internally. In the beginning of their relationship with Hannah, everything they did revolved around their own selfish, sneaky, and manipulative endeavors but by the end, though they still jest, they have learned to give and respect, with no real thought of return on their investment.

I have always resonated with Hannah’s story, and this holds true for both the book and the movie. She transitions from feeling completely alone in the world with little passion to finding a family of her own and hope for her future. She learns to see and open her heart to the beauty hiding within society’s outcasts. Through them she learns to embrace her own past and live openly and shamelessly.

The beauty in this books is in the messy, the uncomfortable, and the rawness of it all.