In The Hard Truth About Sunshine, four acquaintances from a therapy group head out on a week long road trip. The story is told through the eyes of Christopher Barlow, a wounded veteran trying to deal with the life changes he's experienced because of his injury. He's been court-ordered to attend the group therapy session so he isn't exactly all-in, but he agrees to drive the group on their road trip. 
 The other participants in the road trip have equally difficult issues they are dealing with. Connor has a terminal illness and a bucket list, and he's the driving force for seeing the ocean. Jillian and Connor are the most civil of the group, while Christopher and Barb have descended so far into their painful situations, they can't see out of them. Jillian is losing her eyesight and has a serious heart disease but she's a glass half-full kind of girl, and it's a good thing because she provides quite a bit of light in this story. 
 The story is told solely through Christopher's point of view, and I really thought that was a brilliant way of telling this story. He's had a hard time of it since his war injury. He is almost out of hope, but Jillian gradually brings him to a newer, more hopeful place. That's not to say that everything is magically better, but at least he becomes open to looking outside of himself and at what Connor, Barb and Jillian are experiencing. 
 What I absolutely loved about this story is how the friendships gradually evolve and lives are changed. Sawyer Bennett does a great job of keeping a steady pace while peeling back the layers of each person's , scars, regrets, desires, and hope for the future. There's a love story too, with Jillian melting through Christopher's anger and giving him hope for the future. It's very understated and so well done that I haven't been able to get this book out of my head since I finished it. I loved what it said about relationships and shared pain. 
 There are some very sad moments in this book which are juxtaposed with some very beautiful, light filled moments. I don't want to spoil anything, but the ending is so very powerful that I'm getting choked up as I'm thinking about it writing this review. The emotional content is amazing in this story and there were times I laughed and cried, as I experienced the beauty of life's high and low moments through Christopher's eyes. 
 I do think it is worth saying that there may be some triggering content for some readers, as this story contains content regarding suicide and sexual abuse. These are handled with much sensitivity and realism on the part of the author. 
 This story left me feeling hopeful and I thought it was just wonderful all the way around. The pacing, the character arcs and the writing are perfect. While there are some aspects of the story that stretched credibility, there was so much depth to this tale that I didn't dwell on them. The road trip was just the vehicle to show the relationships that are formed between these four misfits and the impact they had on each others lives. I loved everything about this story. 
 An ARC was provided for review.