Every Step She Takes Review: A Journey Toward Self-Love & Acceptance

If there is one thing readers can rely on from Alison Cochrun it is that she writes with an authenticity that feels evergreen. You don’t have to be exactly like her characters to understand what they are experiencing and feeling.

That is what stands out the most about Every Step She Takes by Alison Cochrun. This novel is billed as a romance, but I feel the bigger romance is one of self-love instead of the expected romantic love.

After all, Sadie spends the majority of the book trying to make sense of her own life. She uses the journey on the Camino to allow herself to journey into her own heart and mind.

It’s a journey that just about anyone can relate to because haven’t we all wondered who we are at some point in our lives? Not only that, Cochrun’s queer readers will also relate the queer discovery themes littered throughout as well.

From the start we get this idea that Sadie doesn’t really know who she is despite living a life that she’s content with for some time now. She literally realizes at the airport that perhaps she hasn’t been honest with herself in a very long time.

This is when the grief elements of the story really start to take hold. We watch as Sadie starts to recognize that she’s been running her grandmother’s failing antique business since she died instead of facing that heartbreak head on.

As someone who went through a tough year filled with many losses a few years ago, this book hit me in that corner of my life. It’s a natural reaction when you lose someone near and dear to you for you to lock those feelings away.

Cochrun writes about Sadie’s grief experiences with a vulnerability that only people who’ve suffered such a loss can truly put to words. I felt transported by this book, not because of the queer themes — though they were still important to me — but because of the grief.

Sadie uses this trip to not only escape the predictability her life had become but to also truly find who she is meant to be. Meeting Mal on the plane definitely helps her in that respect.

The whole confessing a deep secret when you think a plane is going to crash only for things to turn out okay isn’t a trope used often. But, when it is there is always a humorous element to it that forces us to say to ourselves, “I’ve been there before.” Even if it’s not that exact scenario.

And what’s great about Mal meeting Sadie in this way, when they end up partnering up to walk the Camino the awkwardness is sort of out of the way. Also, Mal is able to avoid her own issues (at first) by stepping in as Sadie’s queer guide.

One of the things I loved most about Cochrun’s other novels: The Charm Offensive and Kiss Her Once For Me is that she allows her characters to be in their late 20s to early/mid-30s while discussing their sexualities. All too often queer stories focus on teens when talking about coming out.

However, as someone who didn’t know what to identify with until I was 28 years old, the older coming out stories are that much more magical for me. It’s why I found myself gravitating toward Sadie as a relatable character.

That feeling of “what have I been doing with my life,” that Sadie experiences as she realizes she might be a lesbian is one that almost all late-bloomer queer individuals can understand. Which is why it is even more realistic and connective that by the end of her story, we still aren’t certain what Sadie is going to identify as.

Understanding our queerness is a journey that will take months, sometimes even years. So, it’s only natural that Sadie starts to love herself and accept herself as being fine just the way she is by the end, but doesn’t have her romantic interests locked in.

After all, self-love can be just as romantic as partner love. You just have to learn to celebrate yourself as you are, not as those around you hope you’ll be.

While the setting for this journey of discovery could’ve happened anywhere, the readers can appreciate the personal tone in which Alison Cochrun talks about the Camino. Having that personal tie to the hike Sadie and Mal take adds layers to an already complex story, making it that much more enjoyable.

It’s a hike of personal significance to both of these characters that centers not just on sexuality but also complicated family feelings, grief, and most of all learning to accept yourself. These characters might be on the road toward a relationship together by the end, but they aren’t there yet, and that is okay.

Alison Cochrun speaks to those of us who feel a bit adrift because we aren’t having the same experiences as our peers or loved ones. She celebrates that in all of us, encouraging us to love ourselves and take our own journey with no pre-conceived ideas.

Much like a hiking expedition, we all move at our own pace.

Whether you relate to this novel on a more personal level or just appreciate it for the sum of its parts, Every Step She Takes is a journey filled to the brim with love, humor, fun, and most of all heart.

Random Moments of Note:

• I laughed out loud at Sadie’s inner monologue where she discusses the potential disasters that could happen on an airplane. The mention of both Yellowjackets and Lost felt like they were written specifically for me.
• Sadie dating at the start of the book was so relatable it hurt.
• Everyone needs to experience a Stefano at least once in their lives.

 

Every Step She Takes is now available wherever books are sold.

 

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