BOOKISH FRIDAY: “THE BOOK CLUB”

Welcome to another Bookish Friday, in which I  share excerpts from books…and connect with other bloggers, who do the same.

Let’s begin the celebration by sharing Book Beginnings, hosted by Rose City Reader; and let’s showcase The Friday 56 with Freda’s Voice.

To join in, just grab a book and share the opening lines…along with any thoughts you wish to give us; then turn to page 56 and excerpt anything on the page.

Then give us the title of the book, so others can add it to their lists!

What a great way to spend a Friday!

Today’s feature is The Book Club, in which Mary Alice Monroe invites you to meet five remarkable characters as she explores the power of friendship with tenderness, honesty and understanding. 

 

 

Beginning:  PROLOGUE (Eve of Return)

January 7, 1998

Tonight, I will return to my Book Club. 

It’s been half a year since I’ve been to a meeting.  The women will be kind, I know.  Solicitous, perhaps even wary not to say anything that will bring to mind my tragedy.  I hope I don’t see pity in their eyes.  It is not pity I need now but understanding.  Tender words and outstretched hands that will help me break my long isolation and rekindle the kinship with my friends.

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Friday 56:  “Don’t you see, sweetie, that’s what I’m talking about.  No more excuses.  Tom’s dead.  Gone.  You have to pick up the pieces and move forward.  Not just for you, but for the children’s sake.  You’re stagnant here.  Going under.”

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Synopsis:  On the surface, it is a monthly book club. But for five women, it is so much more. For Eve Porter, whose husband’s sudden death cheats her of every security she had planned on, the club is a place of sanctuary. For Annie Blake, a brilliant attorney intent on starting a family late in life, it is the chance to finally let down her guard and dream of other possibilities. For Doris Bridges, it is her support group as she acknowledges her dying marriage and finds the ultimate freedom in her husband’s betrayal. For Gabriella Rivera, the “perfect” wife, mother and friend who offers support to everyone but is afraid to ask for it herself, it is a sense of community. And for Midge Kirsch, an artist who has always lived her life against the grain, it is a haven of acceptance.

They are five women from different walks of life, embracing the challenge of change. And as they share their hopes and fears and triumphs, they will hold fast to the true magic of the book club—friendship.

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I’m eager to read this book.  What do you think?

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