Life rarely follows the script we write for ourselves. Sometimes, the love we believe will last forever changes shape. Sometimes, the home we build becomes the place we must leave. Sometimes, the future we imagined disappears before we are ready to let it go. In That Was Not the Plan, Gabriella Bogialla writes from the centre of those moments with honesty, courage, and warmth.
This memoir is not just about heartbreak. It is about what happens after heartbreak, when a woman must gather the pieces of herself while still being a mother, a daughter, a friend, and a person trying to keep moving. Gabriella shares her story with the kind of openness that makes readers feel seen. She does not present healing as quick or simple. Instead, she shows it as something built slowly, through love, memory, faith, family, friendship, and the quiet decision to keep going.
From Madrid to Marbella, Doha, Lebanon, London, and Italy, That Was Not the Plan carries readers through the many places that shaped Gabriella’s life. Each place holds a different version of her. Some carry joy. Some carry grief. Some hold the ache of goodbye. Others become shelters where she learns how to breathe again. Through these settings, the book becomes more than a personal story. It becomes a moving reflection on home, identity, and belonging.
One of the strongest parts of Gabriella’s story is her portrayal of motherhood. In the middle of divorce, uncertainty, and emotional pain, her love for her son remains steady. She writes about protecting his heart while learning how to heal her own. This gives the memoir its deepest emotional pull. Readers are reminded that strength is not always loud. Sometimes, it is found in getting up, showing up, and choosing love even when life feels unbearably heavy.
Gabriella also writes beautifully about chosen family. Friends, cousins, parents, and loved ones become anchors through chaos. Their presence gives the book a sense of tenderness and community. It shows that healing is rarely something we do alone. Sometimes, we survive because others hold us until we are strong enough to stand again.
What makes That Was Not the Plan so memorable is its balance of pain and hope. Gabriella does not hide the hard parts, but she never lets them have the final word. Her story is filled with loss, but also laughter. It carries betrayal, but also forgiveness. It holds endings, but also new beginnings.
For readers who have ever had to start over, this memoir offers comfort and courage. That Was Not the Plan by Gabriella Bogialla is a heartfelt reminder that even when life breaks from the plan, it can still lead to healing, purpose, and a deeper understanding of love.
