Kindle Unlimited
Unlimited reading. Over 4 million titles. Learn more
Read for Free
OR
Kindle Price: $2.99

Save $9.00 (75%)

Promotions apply when you purchase

These promotions will be applied to this item:

Some promotions may be combined; others are not eligible to be combined with other offers. For details, please see the Terms & Conditions associated with these promotions.

Audiobook Price: $17.46

Save: $9.97 (57%)

Read with our free app
You've subscribed to ! We will preorder your items within 24 hours of when they become available. When new books are released, we'll charge your default payment method for the lowest price available during the pre-order period.
Update your device or payment method, cancel individual pre-orders or your subscription at
Your Memberships & Subscriptions

Buy for others

Give as a gift or purchase for a team or group.
Learn more

Buying and sending eBooks to others

  1. Select quantity
  2. Buy and send eBooks
  3. Recipients can read on any device

These ebooks can only be redeemed by recipients in the US. Redemption links and eBooks cannot be resold.
Kindle app logo image

Download the free Kindle app and start reading Kindle books instantly on your smartphone, tablet, or computer - no Kindle device required.

Read instantly on your browser with Kindle for Web.

Using your mobile phone camera - scan the code below and download the Kindle app.

QR code to download the Kindle App

Amazon book clubs early access
Loading your book clubs
There was a problem loading your book clubs. Please try again.
Not in a club? Learn more
Amazon book clubs early access

Join or create book clubs

Choose books together

Track your books
Bring your club to Amazon Book Clubs, start a new book club and invite your friends to join, or find a club that’s right for you for free.
Explore Amazon Book Clubs

Follow the author

Jule Kucera
Follow
Something went wrong. Please try your request again later.

Sweet Baby Lover: A true story of love, death, and hope Kindle Edition

by Jule Kucera (Author) Format: Kindle Edition
4.1 out of 5 stars 423
See all formats and editions

“Is it better to have loved and lost than never to have loved at all?”

"This is a love letter, a memoir, a beautiful book about what it means to go on the journey of a lifetime."
Seth Godin, Author

Jule Kucera spent her childhood in a fearful orbit around her alcoholic, bipolar father. In her thirties, she married a charming narcissist who began disappearing on their honeymoon. When she divorced him, he stalked her.

Jule vows she’ll never again give her heart to a man who will only use it against her: love is an illusion that ends in pain. Instead, she devotes herself to her work as a corporate executive and to creating a beautiful nest for herself. Her Chicago home is brick the color of butterscotch. The walls are covered with her own colorful paintings, Jule’s way of staking her claim on her home and her life. But the building needs work, and she hires a friend of a friend for the project.

Trent Price is divorced, with not much more than a high school diploma, a weathered Chevy truck, and a ten-year-old daughter in Michigan. His torso, slashed with scars, looks to have endured a brutal accident, but there is even greater damage within.

As she watches Trent work, feelings buried years ago come to life. Jule leaves a note in Trent’s toolbox—an offer that brings together their damaged bodies, tattered pasts, and flickering hopes. When Trent unexpectedly blurts “I love you,” Jule must choose between the safety of her curated life or risk everything for yet another man who could hurt her.

This tender memoir, plainly told, is perfect for fans of The Year of Magical Thinking. With mature situations and language, it is one woman’s honest account of her remarkable journey to love, through loss, and at last, to peace.

“What happens when two hearts of gold collide in a wounded world, determined to tell the truth and love each other no matter what? Jaw-droppingly vulnerable, laugh-out-loud funny, divinely human.”
Jill E. Harris, Writer

“Can a heartbreaking tragedy still bestow a fairytale ending? This page-turner of a memoir delicately reveals that even love lost can mend a broken heart.”
Katie Robleski, Author & Artist
Previous page
  1. Print length
    289 pages
  2. Language
    English
  3. Sticky notes
    On Kindle Scribe
  4. Publication date
    July 26, 2014
  5. File size
    4313 KB
  6. Page Flip
    Enabled
  7. Word Wise
    Enabled
  8. Enhanced typesetting
    Enabled
  9. See all details
Next page

Editorial Reviews

From the Author

Trent was my partner until he died, unexpectedly, at age 46. I loved him immensely and he adored me. After he died, my friends encouraged me to write out my grief. So I did, on a blog, because it was 2009 and I thought it would be cool to have a blog.

My plan was to make blog posts about my time with Trent until I ran out of things to say. Then I would quit. Every time a memory came to mind, I wrote a brief reminder about it on a post-it and stuck the post-it in a composition book. Yellow and orange post-it notes covered four pages.

When I had written the final story from the final post-it note, I stopped writing blog posts. I let the blog languish. But something didn't feel right. The blog posts weren't in chronological order, they were written in the order of whatever memory tugged at me when I sat down to write. Because the posts weren't chronological, it wasn't possible to read the story as it unfolded.

So, with a ream of printed posts, I headed to the hills of the Smoky Mountains. For two weeks, I lived in a tiny cabin where I rearranged the story order which revealed holes where stories should have been written but weren't. Then I wrote the missing stories.

When I came home, I studied how to self-publish a book. I hired a developmental editor, then a line editor, then a copy editor. I hired a cover designer but saved the interior design of the book for myself. Then, on the anniversary of Trent's birthday, I published it.

I'm proud of having written it and proud of the fact that when I brought it to a writer's retreat, the New York Times bestselling author who ran the retreat said, "This doesn't look like a self-published book. It looks like a real book."

When it was published, a friend asked if it was available as an audiobook. It wasn't because I wanted it to be in my voice and didn't know how to do that. But I've taken a podcasting workshop and made the recording. There's a new final chapter, written eight years after the book was first published, that feels right. The book now has the ending it's meant to have.

The refreshed ebook, paperback, and first-time-ever large print book and audiobook are available now. Which format is right for you?

PS: If you have the 2014 version of Sweet Baby Lover and would like to have the new last chapter, email jule@julekucera.com. I'll be happy to send it your way.

About the Author

After writing for Fortune 150 companies for more than thirty years, Jule Kucera now writes to explore the wild and noble territory of the human heart.
Jule believes:

    • In the power of love and truth.
    • Who we were doesn't determine who we are or will be.
    • Brave isn't a feeling but an action, and it isn't necessary to feel brave to act brave.
    • The family that fits us might not be the one we were born into.
    • Our bodies and our earth deserve our care.

    Jule currently lives in Cincinnati, Ohio, where colorful art covers the walls of her condo and twinkle lights decorate her desk. She is grateful for her broad community of dear friends and one local lovely little library.

    To connect with her, visit Jule's website at julekucera.com, or follow her on Instagram @jule.kucera. She'd love to hear from you.

    Product details

    • ASIN ‏ : ‎ B00M5PZWPQ
    • Publisher ‏ : ‎ Poppyseed House (July 26, 2014)
    • Publication date ‏ : ‎ July 26, 2014
    • Language ‏ : ‎ English
    • File size ‏ : ‎ 4313 KB
    • Simultaneous device usage ‏ : ‎ Unlimited
    • Text-to-Speech ‏ : ‎ Enabled
    • Screen Reader ‏ : ‎ Supported
    • Enhanced typesetting ‏ : ‎ Enabled
    • X-Ray ‏ : ‎ Enabled
    • Word Wise ‏ : ‎ Enabled
    • Sticky notes ‏ : ‎ On Kindle Scribe
    • Print length ‏ : ‎ 289 pages
    • Customer Reviews:
      4.1 out of 5 stars 423

    About the author

    Follow authors to get new release updates, plus improved recommendations.
    Jule Kucera

    Jule Kucera

    Brief content visible, double tap to read full content.
    Full content visible, double tap to read brief content.

    After writing for Fortune 150 companies for almost thirty years, Jule Kucera now writes to explore the wild and noble territory of the human heart.

    Jule believes:

    • In the power of love and truth.

    • Who we were doesn't determine who we are or will be.

    • Brave isn't a feeling but an action.

    • The family that fits us might not be the one we were born into.

    • Our bodies and our earth deserve our care.

    Jule lives in Cincinnati, Ohio, grateful for her broad community of dear friends and one local lovely little library. To connect with her, visit Jule's website at julekucera.com, or follow her on Instagram @jule.kucera. She'd love to hear from you.

    Customer reviews

    4.1 out of 5 stars
    4.1 out of 5
    423 global ratings

    Top reviews from the United States

    The Flash
    5.0 out of 5 stars Heartwarming. I didn't expect what I experienced.
    Reviewed in the United States on October 6, 2014
    Verified Purchase
    Thoughtful. Honest. Evocative. Shocking at a number of turns. But I couldn't put it down.

    I'm at the age where I am facing death (not yet, thank God, for myself, but for too many people around me; my father died just a month and a half ago, and, as former General and Medical POA, and, now, executor of his estate, I have had to deal with all the DETAILS associated with his death). This book, being the memoir of someone who is just now still working through grief, provides a wonderful pattern--not really a roadmap--for how to get through her own grieving process and making sense of her "lifetime love[r]'s" life.

    Somehow, Jule's eulogy particularly touched me, being "defiant" in a way, against those who didn't really know her Sweet Baby Love(r) . . . or who had wickedly abused him all their lives.

    Quite a testament! (The whole book is a testament.)

    If you are facing the death of a loved one, or have recently experienced the death of a loved one, or are still trying to understand the death of a loved one (even though they died years ago), I expect you will be grateful to read this book.

    DISCLAIMER for those who "follow" me or my reviews: Please know that I have long advocated the stance that we must "Seek FIRST (both in time AND priority of importance) to UNDERSTAND and THEN (second--again, both chronologically and in terms of priority of importance) to BE UNDERSTOOD." As a result, please do not assume that I would give a book five stars only if the author's "philosophy," "theology," or "life view" agreed with mine at every point--or, even, most points.

    Jule shares several aspects of her life, her experience, and her way of looking at things that, frankly, as I say in my opening paragraph, were "shocking" to me. They were unexpected and--again, frankly--were (and are) so personal and intimate and HONEST, that they kind of took my breath away. I didn't EXPECT them.

    I haven't read too many books that ARE so honest, so open, so . . . REVELATORY . . . sometimes of things that are beautiful; often, of things that one wishes weren't true. And yet I read them and knew they WERE true. And I appreciated them for their truth, whether I "agreed" with them or not. The "agreement" didn't matter. The truth of the STORY mattered.

    If you want only to read books with which you can "agree," either with the author/protagonist's choices or behaviors or ways of seeing things, then this book, almost assuredly, will not be for you. But if you want an honest book, a beautifully written book, a thoughtful book, this is for you.

    I am grateful to Ms. Kucera for having written it . . . just as she did.
    5 people found this helpful
    Helpful
     Report
    Maria Rodgers O'Rourke
    4.0 out of 5 stars Richly textured memoir of love, loss, and abiding presence
    Reviewed in the United States on April 28, 2023
    Verified Purchase
    Sweet Baby Lover has so much to say about life's risks and joys, about how we show up for those we love, about how relationships offer deep transformation if we're open to the invitation. Jule's voice is clear and resonant. Her SBL is so vividly described it's as if the reader is riding shotgun in the cab of his truck or paddling their kayak following his sure lead.

    I was rooting for this pair, even as the warning signs appeared. How many of us have rushed past our own warning signs, in our own lives? SBL gives us companions for this bumpy journey of life, where we're all doing the best we can, with what we know, healing the hurts we've endured.
    Helpful
     Report
    Katie Robleski
    5.0 out of 5 stars This isn't your boring ol' love story. This is life and the mess it leaves on your doorstep.
    Reviewed in the United States on November 4, 2019
    Verified Purchase
    First of all, what a page-turner. Even when it was after midnight, and I knew I needed to sleep, this book was so hard to put down. This weekend, I gave in, and read the rest in one long sitting on a leisurely Sunday. After I finished, I had a long talk with my husband about what each of us wants if we unexpectedly die. It helped me feel less sad.

    What I love most about Jule Kucera's writing style is that it's almost like a blank canvas for the reader. While the context is extremely emotional, she approaches the telling of her dark, messy, and inevitably tragic story, with distance and simplicity. Without asking, she invites us to apply our lens to her tale. She makes room for our own dark, messy, and perhaps even inevitably tragic experiences. She allows us to grieve with her, with ourselves, and with others touched by tragedy.

    For example: there's a thread about the relationship between a father and daughter: a father who would do anything for her, a daughter who plays him to win her game, and therefore he too must participate...play the game. *Unlike* this father, I grew up with a dad who wanted next-to-nothing to do with my sister and me, so I felt quite the pang as I watched this relationship unfold. But I also found myself trying to find solace in and gratitude for my stepfather who has and would do anything for me, and yet always felt slightly out of place.

    While I loved every page, it was the final pages...the Secret that Jule has to reveal...that put the book at 5 stars for me. Life isn't clean, it isn't easy, and it's nothing like the fairy tales we long for. And it's ok. Let me repeat that. It's ok. The years that Jule spent with Trent are the kinds of years we've all endured in one form or another. They build us to be the rich, textured, and flawed people we are. Why? So we can be more empathetic and catch our fellow friends when they, too, stumble in the pain and darkness. And so we can cut ourselves a break when we do too.
    6 people found this helpful
    Helpful
     Report

    Top reviews from other countries

    fionaatseamonkeys
    5.0 out of 5 stars What a read
    Reviewed in the United Kingdom on September 26, 2014
    Verified Purchase
    Really enjoyed reading this, an intense,loving portrayal of dealing with a loved one with mental health issues,then losing them. the dignity which she maintained whilst dealing with Trent s family astounds me.
    Report
    sabine
    5.0 out of 5 stars dramatic but wonderful love story
    Reviewed in Germany on September 4, 2014
    Verified Purchase
    When you start reading this touching biography, you will not put the book
    down until you are at the end. You will have deep insight into the inner
    struggle of a woman who, on the one hand wants to do what is socially
    expected but on the other, is drawn to what she feels she must do. You
    will be pulled into the heights and depths of this dramatic and wonderful
    love story. I highly recommend this book to everyone who wants an inside
    view of the life-changing experiences of one woman, how she finds her way
    to herself and figures out what she truly values. An amazing and
    surprising story.
    Report
    Kate 'griz' Pill
    4.0 out of 5 stars A compelling read.
    Reviewed in Australia on December 12, 2014
    Verified Purchase
    This was an absolutely beautiful read about a relationship between two people. It held me from start to finish. Real, raw, honest, gritty and compelling.
    Report
    Karrie
    4.0 out of 5 stars Moving
    Reviewed in the United Kingdom on April 18, 2015
    Verified Purchase
    A very well written and moving love story. I admire the author for her honesty, courage and insights. I hope she has found peace and happiness now.
    Report
    Christine Preece
    2.0 out of 5 stars Sweet Baby Lover
    Reviewed in the United Kingdom on September 29, 2014
    Verified Purchase
    I was confused with this book from the start, but thought that the more I read the more I would get into it. Unfortunately I could not get into it and I read 50% of the book, but then I gave up. This is my opinion though and somebody else maybe would enjoy this book, but I did not think it was very good.
    Report
    Report an issue

    Does this item contain inappropriate content?
    Report
    Do you believe that this item violates a copyright?
    Report
    Does this item contain quality or formatting issues?
    Report