REVIEW: Out of the Woods by Hannah Bonam-Young

In Out of the Woods by Hannah Bonam-Young, Sarah and Caleb Linwood have been a couple since high school. Even seventeen years later, Sarah has never regretted a day with her handsome husband and his brilliant mind. But if she’s being honest, she does think about what could have been. What would her life have been like if she hadn’t lost her mother in her late teens? Would she have followed her dreams? Or still gone on to marry Caleb and settle in as a housewife like she is now? All Sarah knows is that she’s feeling restless as well as tired of her husband being the fixer in the relationship while she feels like a constant failure.

“Seven days, no distractions, a little bit of couples counseling in the great outdoors. Might give you some time to think. To talk. To dream about what you want out of life. What’s the worst that could happen?”

When the one thing Sarah wanted to do to honor her mother’s life–throw a fundraiser–begins to fail at the last minute, Caleb sweeps in as always to take care of the issue. Not able to take any more, Sarah looks for a way to move forward and find happiness. Her best friend Win has the solution: A nature trek for seven days with a side of couples counseling along the way might be what she and Caleb need to get out of their rut. One drawback is that neither of them are outdoorsy. But what they *are* is committed to making it through this tough patch in their lives. Because there is still an abundance of love between them. And Sarah knows she and Caleb will do anything to find their footing again. Together.

‘You know times are tough when one of the other members in group therapy decides you should take precedence.’

A marriage-in-trouble story that was as quick to make me laugh as it was to bring a tear to my eye, OUT OF THE WOODS was all about years of love and good intentions–but getting lost along the way.

“You have to shine on your own. And you will, baby. I know you will. Because you shine brighter than anyone I’ve ever known.”

CW: View Spoiler »Terminal illness, parental death, grief & loss, depression « Hide Spoiler

While OUT OF THE WOODS is my introduction to Hannah Bonam-Young’s work, her writing style, full of warmth and big emotions, drew me in from the start like I was already familiar with the intriguing characters and their background. She made me feel like I was right there with Sarah, whose POV is told throughout the story. Something that wasn’t easy at times. Particularly when the flashback scenes to her earlier years chronicled the devastating loss of her mother that changed her life forever. Those bittersweet memories still affected Sarah at thirty-one years old as well as her husband and high school sweetheart, Caleb.

I embraced Sarah and Caleb wholeheartedly on their journey. It was evident in how they acted with each other just how much they still cared and loved one another–even after seventeen-years together. I think most readers will understand how things between Caleb and Sarah could become strained over time as they grew and changed. The fact that they were both willing to do something about that stress spoke volumes. They wanted to do the work to save their marriage as well as (hopefully) come through it more fulfilled and even closer as a couple. That was what really captivated me. Sarah or Caleb could have turned to someone else for comfort or become vindictive. But they didn’t.

Instead, they went on an outdoor retreat that paired up with couples counseling. Oh, the fun and entertaining predicaments they got into as neither Sarah nor Caleb were the outdoorsy type. In between all the laughter and snickering, Bonam-Young layered in Sarah’s memories of events in her past that shaped her over time. Some were sweet–the moments between her and Caleb–but some had me nearly crying. It was a delicate balance that turned this novel into something special that will likely stick with readers.

QOTD: Do you know any high school sweetheart couples who are still together?

Book Info:

Publication: Published: January 28th, 2025 | Dell |

A married couple joins a week-long wilderness expedition to help them reconnect in this heartfelt companion novel to the viral TikTok sensation Out on a Limb.

High school sweethearts Sarah and Caleb Linwood have always been a sure thing. For the past seventeen years, they have had each other’s backs through all of life’s ups and downs.

But Sarah has begun to wonder… who is she without her other half?

When she decides to take on a project of her own, a fundraising gala in memoriam of her late mother, Sarah wants nothing more than to prove to herself—and to everyone else—that she doesn’t need Caleb’s help to succeed. She’s still her mother’s daughter, after all, independent and capable.

That is, until the event fails and Caleb uninvitedly steps in to save the day.

The rift that follows unearths a decade of grievances and doubts. Are they truly the same people they were when they got married at nineteen? Are they supposed to be?

In a desperate attempt to fix what they fear is breaking, Sarah and Caleb make the spontaneous decision to get out of their comfort zone and join a grueling, week-long hiking trip intended to guide couples through rough patches.

What follows is a life-affirming comedy of errors as two nature-averse people fight their way out of the woods in order to find their way back to their roots.