If you could repeat one year of your life, what would you do differently? This heartwarming and hilarious novel from the authors of The Status of All Things and Your Perfect Life features three best friends who get the chance to return to the year they turned forty-the year that altered all of their lives, in ways big and small-and also get the opportunity to change their future.
Jessie loves her son Lucas more than anything, but it tears her up inside that he was conceived in an affair that ended her marriage to a man she still loves, a man who just told her he's getting remarried. This time around, she's determined to bury the secret of Lucas' paternity, and to repair the fissures that sent her wandering the first time.
Gabriela regrets that she wasted her most fertile years in hot pursuit of a publishing career. Yes, she's one of the biggest authors in the world, but maybe what she really wanted to create was a family. With a chance to do it again, she's focused on convincing her husband, Colin, to give her the baby she desires.
Claire is the only one who has made peace with her past: her twenty-two year old daughter, Emily, is finally on track after the turmoil of adolescence, and she's recently gotten engaged, with the two carat diamond on her finger to prove it. But if she's being honest, Claire still fantasizes about her own missed opportunities: a chance to bond with her mother before it was too late, and the possibility of preventing her daughter from years of anguish. Plus, there's the man who got away-the man who may have been her one true love.
But it doesn't take long for all three women to learn that re-living a life and making different decisions only leads to new problems and consequences-and that the mistakes they made may, in fact, have been the best choices of all...
This was a lot sadder than I anticipated, when I downloaded it, but in the end, many hard lessons are learned, which lead to good things for all.
The Year We Turned Forty is the story of Jessie, Gabriela and Claire. Each made a decision that year, which left them with a hole in their hearts. Jump ahead to their 50th birthday, and they are presented with an opportunity to go back to that year. They returned to their 40th year with new hope and lots of insight. They knew what they lost due to the choices they had made, and they were determined to make better choices this time. I really appreciated how these women changed. When their were first 40, they had different goals and priorities. They came back with a different appreciation for the things they did have, and I think that is a very strong message for a lot of people. Sometimes when it's right in front of you, you don't see it. You don't see all the good until it's gone. That was the strongest message for me.
Overall: a thoughtful look at love and life filled with lots of feels.
