01/03/2022
Screenwriter and children’s book author Ochu captivates from the first page of this sharply written, highly engaging tale of three childhood friends and their troubled—and ultimately triumphant—adult lives. In small-town Wisconsin, pastor’s wife Annie is secretly addicted to antidepressants. In Minnesota, physical therapist Jo is a recovering alcoholic, while in glittery Los Angeles, real estate agent Sondra is stuck in a sexless marriage with a man decades her senior. Each of the women is coming to a crossroads in her life: whether to leave their marriages, whether to stay, and how to start over.
After Annie’s medication use leads to a serious injury, the best friends get a wakeup call that is compounded by blackmail for Sondra, when she cheats on her husband for the first and last time, and Jo’s inability to forgive herself for mistakes she made while drinking. Meeting up in their Wisconsin hometown to support each other, the friends take what will prove to be a life-transforming canoeing trip, one that changes their futures in unexpected ways. Ochu, a native Wisconsinite, perfectly captures the idyllic but sometimes utterly confining life that comes with residing in a small Midwestern town, along with the crushing regret and shame felt by many recovering alcoholics and those who have made a one-time slipup in their marriage vows.
One of the very few hiccups in the otherwise stellar novel is the complexity surrounding Annie’s addiction. Some readers may find issue with Ochu’s not always realistic depiction of Annie’s struggles, but the eloquent storytelling—and bursts of wisdom like “Some people get a sense of reward by sacrificing themselves for others”—outweighs any feasibility concerns. Ochu’s deft storytelling skills and expert characterization combine to create a resonant tale that would prove a surefire hit with any women’s fiction book club. In telling the story of imperfect yet all-too-human friends, Ochu taps universal chords.
Takeaway: An immensely relatable, expertly written tale of female friendship and coping.
Great for fans of: Kristin Hannah, Jill Shalvis, Debbie Macomber.
Production grades Cover: A Design and typography: A Illustrations: N/A Editing: A- Marketing copy: A
