Julie Metz's life changes forever on one ordinary January
afternoon when her husband, Henry, collapses on the kitchen
floor and dies in her arms. Suddenly, this mother of a six-
year-old is the young widow in a bucolic small town. And
this is only the beginning. Seven months after Henry's
death, just when Julie thinks she is emerging from the
worst of it, comes the rest of it: She discovers that what
had appeared to be the reality of her marriage was but a
half-truth. Henry had hidden another life from her.
"He loved you so much." That's what everyone keeps telling
her. It's true that he loved Julie and their six-year-old
daughter ebulliently and devotedly, but as she starts to
pick up the pieces and rebuild her life without Henry in
it, she learns that Henry had been unfaithful throughout
their twelve years of marriage. The most damaging affair
was ongoing--a tumultuous relationship that ended only with
Henry's death. For Julie, the only thing to do was to get
at the real truth--to strip away the veneer of "perfection"
that was her life and confront each of the women beneath
the veneer.
Perfection is the story of Julie Metz's journey through
chaos and transformation as she creates a different life
for herself and her young daughter. It is the story of
coming to terms with painful truths, of rebuilding both a
life and an identity after betrayal and widowhood. It is a
story of rebirth and happiness--if not perfection.