The Summer of New Beginnings by Bette Lee Crosby

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

The Summer of New Beginnings is a marvelous women's contemporary fiction. It tells the story of the Briggs family, notably of Meghan, and how they try to deal with several problems after her father died. One of the reasons why I've requested for a reading copy of this novel is because of the dog, "Sox" , in the story. Although the dog was not immensely mentioned because the story centers on Meghan, dog lovers such as I will be deeply moved by how huge the part of our furry friends plays on helping us through our ordeals.

If you are looking for a light read and a little motivational story, try to check out this astounding novel of Bette Lee Crosby. It is also a great summer-read or even a weekend-read that will also make you reflect on whether you're still living in the past and needs to move on.

Woman Last Seen in Her Thirties by Camille Pagán

MY RATING: 3 of 5 stars

Maggie Halfmoon and her husband, Adam, is nearing their retirement and their 28th year of being married. However, Maggie’s worst nightmare came when Adam just suddenly dropped the bomb that he’s leaving their home because he no longer loves her. Aside from this, he told her that there’s another woman in his life; he sent a divorce paper few weeks after he was gone, and Maggie was left thinking what went wrong in their marriage. She kept on wishing that Adam will have a change of heart; that he will come back and they will fix their relationship.

Maggie went through the stages of grief: denial of what happened; anger to the man he loves since college; she even bargain with Adam when she drunk called him while he was in Rome; she had a mild depression, it was shown when she was slowly becoming an alcoholic particularly in the beginning, and she finally comes to acceptance after she met Adam again in the hospital.

While reading Woman Last Seen in Her Thirties, it reminds me of the bestselling novel of Elizabeth Gilbert. Although I haven’t read the aforementioned, I was able to watch the movie based on the book; hence I was able to compare this novel of Camille Pagán to it. The similarities between the two are that both protagonists went to Italy; they went through grief and confusion, and they both want to know what they want in their life now that they are single.

The story of Maggie in this novel and those other divorced women will teach us that it’s not the end of the road if your marriage failed. Hence, we should relish every phase of grief; seek peace; try to forgive those who hurt us, and keep moving forward because behind those failures might be a better life ahead.