Changing Lanes: A Novel

by Kathleen Long

Abby Halladay has the perfect life. Or, rather, she will…as long as everything goes exactly according to plan. Abby never leaves anything to chance — not her job as a syndicated columnist, not her engagement to her fiancé, Fred, and certainly not her impending wedding in Paris (New Jersey, that is).

Unfortunately for Abby, even the best-laid plans often go awry — like when Fred runs away to Paris (France, that is), her column is canned, and her dream home is diagnosed with termites. Forced to move back in with her parents and drive her dad’s cab, Abby’s perfect life has now officially become the perfect disaster.

Then a funny thing happens. Slowly but surely, Abby begins letting go of her dreams of perfection. As she does, the messy, imperfect life she thought she never wanted starts to feel exactly like the one she needs.

Poignant and heartfelt, Changing Lanes celebrates the unexpected joys of everyday life — and the enduring promise of second chances.

• ISBN10: 1611099455
• ISBN13: 9781611099454
• Publish Date: 14 May 2013
• Publish Status: Active
• Out of Print: 22 March 2021
• Publish Country: US
• Publisher: Amazon Publishing
• Imprint: Lake Union Publishing
• Format: Paperback (US Trade)
• Pages: 264
• Language: English

Reviews

[Cocktails and Books]

This was one of those books that managed to touch your heart while making you smile and sometimes laugh out loud

Abby Halladay had a plan. She was to marry Fred, they would move into their cute Victorian house in her hometown and she would write her nice column for the local paper. But on the day she and Fred were to move into their house and start their lives, everything fell apart. While Fred fled to Paris, France, Abby was left in Paris, New Jersey (her hometown) to try and make sense of what happened to her best laid plans. She soon realizes that having her plans waylaid was the best thing to happen to her.

I loved Abby and the entire Halladay family. They were quirky, funny and at their core, loving. They looked out for one another in their own special way. When Abby came home, they were able to help her find her way. They didn't nag her (other than her mother with her dinner time fix ups) or try and push her instead. Instead, they let her fumble and were always there to help her back on her feet.

Intertwined with Abby's family was her high school best friend and next door neighbor, Mick O'Malley. Mick was on his own journey trying to discover what he was supposed to do with his life. He'd left everything behind in Seattle to take care of his mother as her health declined. He may have thought he was just the son of the town drunk, but he also discovered that he really wasn't the 'bad boy' everyone (including himself) thought he was.

This was a great story about finding yourself and giving yourself the ok to change lanes when you find the course you started down isn't the right one. The story and the characters were quite charming and will make you want to drop everything to find Paris, New Jersey.