did I read that before or maybe lived it?

there were moments when I was sure I was recalling parts of my own life, or was the author remembering his? a lovely bittersweet story with an over-the-top “climax” that I just waded through to reach the rewarding epilogue. the narrator was excellent and added a great deal of realness to what could have been a silly, schmalzy waste of time. but it wasn’t, it took me back to the pain and the joy.