A Girl's Guide to Moving on (New Beginnings)

by Debbie Macomber

[Linda]

This review was originally posted on (un)Conventional Bookviews
A Girl's Guide to Moving On is a sweet, tender and sometimes sad story about hope. And about love. And how to move on after a divorce.

Picking ones life back up and fit the pieces together after a divorce can be harder than it seems, and for both Nichole and Leanne, the new beginning was emotionally difficult. A Girl's Guide to Moving On started with the two of them needing something to help them get back into the world once more, and so they made a list of things they should do. Let go, help others to help themselves, love themselves so they could love others as well. The relationship between Nichole and Leanne was the most honest and balanced relationship in the story, and I loved that Leann was Nichole's mother in law. They got divorced at the same time, Nichole gave Leann the courage she needed to leave her husband of 35 years, with most of those years spent knowing he was cheating on her.

In many ways, A Girl's Guide to Moving on is an empowering story, even if both women have some set-backs both when it comes to their ex-husbands and new people they meet. I found the flow to be quite stilted in the beginning, and I think the reason is that Nichole and Leann each have chapters where they share their thoughts, their experiences and what happened in their lives lately. It was kind of like a delayed stream of consciousness, and it took me a while to get into the story. It was good to see that they were holding each other up, doing their best to move forward, even if there were many things in their lives that also tied them to their past, and their cheating husbands.

While A Girl's Guide to Moving On is part of a series, it can be read as a standalone. Written in dual points of views, first person perspective, both Leanne and Nichole share their inner thoughts and feelings. The story unfolds at a fairly slow pace, and is in past tense.



Wile married, my life had revolved around Sean; I kept our home, entertained on his behalf, and managed our social calendar. Basically, I'd seen to him and the needs of his career to the point that I'd lost my own identity. I found pleasure in discovering the things I enjoyed.

I didn't know when the tears started. They came unbidden, unwelcome. I thought I'd shed all the tears I had in me over the failure of this marriage. But I was wrong.