The Life That She Wanted
Being a mother isn’ t easy, especially when you never wanted to be one. Nora became a wife and mother at age eighteen, long before she planned. Now she finds that fulfilling society’s expectations in a rapidly changing world is much more difficult than she ever anticipated. After losing a friend to domestic violence, Nora helps start a shelter to protect other women, and she struggles to balance her passionate activism with her duties as a parent. As she deals with constant guilt and confusion from conflicting priorities, Nora discovers the solace and support that only good friends can provide. They add the love and balance that she needs after her marriage ends. When her daughter gives birth to a baby girl, Nora becomes a grandmother and finds more joy and wonder than she ever dreamed possible. Nora’s mid-life takes some interesting turns when unexpected romantic relationships add a satisfaction that she couldn’ t have predicted. In a story that encompasses three generations of intelligent and strong-willed women, Nora realizes that there are many different ways for a woman to build a life on her own terms. The Life That She Wanted is a thought-provoking novel, a complex portrait of motherhood, friendship, family, love, and ambition.
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The Life That She Wanted
Being a mother isn’ t easy, especially when you never wanted to be one. Nora became a wife and mother at age eighteen, long before she planned. Now she finds that fulfilling society’s expectations in a rapidly changing world is much more difficult than she ever anticipated. After losing a friend to domestic violence, Nora helps start a shelter to protect other women, and she struggles to balance her passionate activism with her duties as a parent. As she deals with constant guilt and confusion from conflicting priorities, Nora discovers the solace and support that only good friends can provide. They add the love and balance that she needs after her marriage ends. When her daughter gives birth to a baby girl, Nora becomes a grandmother and finds more joy and wonder than she ever dreamed possible. Nora’s mid-life takes some interesting turns when unexpected romantic relationships add a satisfaction that she couldn’ t have predicted. In a story that encompasses three generations of intelligent and strong-willed women, Nora realizes that there are many different ways for a woman to build a life on her own terms. The Life That She Wanted is a thought-provoking novel, a complex portrait of motherhood, friendship, family, love, and ambition.
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The Life That She Wanted

The Life That She Wanted

by Alice Benson
The Life That She Wanted

The Life That She Wanted

by Alice Benson

Paperback

$21.99 
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Overview

Being a mother isn’ t easy, especially when you never wanted to be one. Nora became a wife and mother at age eighteen, long before she planned. Now she finds that fulfilling society’s expectations in a rapidly changing world is much more difficult than she ever anticipated. After losing a friend to domestic violence, Nora helps start a shelter to protect other women, and she struggles to balance her passionate activism with her duties as a parent. As she deals with constant guilt and confusion from conflicting priorities, Nora discovers the solace and support that only good friends can provide. They add the love and balance that she needs after her marriage ends. When her daughter gives birth to a baby girl, Nora becomes a grandmother and finds more joy and wonder than she ever dreamed possible. Nora’s mid-life takes some interesting turns when unexpected romantic relationships add a satisfaction that she couldn’ t have predicted. In a story that encompasses three generations of intelligent and strong-willed women, Nora realizes that there are many different ways for a woman to build a life on her own terms. The Life That She Wanted is a thought-provoking novel, a complex portrait of motherhood, friendship, family, love, and ambition.

Product Details

ISBN-13: 9781963869644
Publisher: Running Wild Press
Publication date: 04/27/2026
Pages: 404
Product dimensions: 5.50(w) x 8.50(h) x (d)

About the Author

Alice Benson lives in Wisconsin with her wife, Deborah, and their dog. Alice and Deborah are fortunate to share six children and six grandchildren. Alice recently retired from a job in a human services field; previously she spent over thirteen years working with a domestic violence program. Her shorter published works have appeared in a variety of publications. Alice has published two novels, Her Life is Showing and A Year in Her Life. In the last two years, Alice has been able to create some wonderful memories with her granddaughters by working with each of them to develop their amazingly imaginative ideas into novels. Alice is very excited that one of those novels, Trapped in a Tablet, will be published in the spring by Watchful Wizard Publishing. For further information on future publications, visit Alice at alicebensonauthor.com.

Table of Contents

C O N T E N T S Prologue - 1 Chapter 1 - 3 Chapter 2 - 14 Chapter 3 - 31 Chapter 4 - 42 Chapter 5 - 54 Chapter 6 - 67 Chapter 7 - 76 Chapter 8 - 83 Chapter 9 - 100 Chapter 10 - 108 Chapter 11 - 121 Chapter 12 - 139 Chapter 13 - 153 Chapter 14 - 171 Chapter 15 - 184 Chapter 16 - 193 Chapter 17 - 208 Chapter 18 - 218 Chapter 19 - 227 Chapter 20 - 248 Chapter 21 - 261 Chapter 22 - 277 Chapter 23 - 288 Chapter 24 - 293 Chapter 25 - 314 Chapter 26 - 319 Chapter 27 - 324 Chapter 28 - 342 Chapter 29 - 352 Chapter 30 - 360 Chapter 31 - 369 Epilogue - 388 Acknowledgments - 393 About RIZE Press - 395
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