We all found this book to be somewhat depressing. Once we all figured out that it was short stories and that none of them really connected other than to have Olive in all of them, we settled in and began to enjoy the story. We felt although Olive did not seem to be a happy person, she had a lot of compassion for those who were unstable in their own lives. She did try to help others. As it turned out, this book was one of our best discussions.