Forty-something divorcee Thomasina "Tee" Hodges is
celebrating. Her only daughter is getting married and Tee
does it up in high style, spending more than she should
but, with no regrets. After all, she's secure in her
longtime position with Markson & Daughter, a cosmetics
company she darn near helped to start. The morning after
the wedding, however, when she wakes up with the best man
and no memory of exactly how that happened, her world is
tilted on its axis. Little does Tee know that this is
just the beginning of unexpected events in her life. She
encounters changes she never imagined, changes that will
test her mettle and teach her who she really is and what
she really wants out of life.
Virginia DeBerry and Donna Grant have done it again.
Every time I thought Tee had hit her lowest point—and Tee
probably did too—the authors ramped up the stakes, finding
yet another way to tilt Tee's world a few more degrees.
At times, it felt as though the authors had peeked into my
life, borrowing some of my best material, the stuff I was
saving for my own novels. But really, what makes Ms.
DeBerry's and Ms. Grant's writing so special is that they
have a unique ability to draw upon universal life
circumstances and paint a broad landscape of the emotions
and challenges that come with them in a way to which
anyone can relate. Tee, even in the midst of her worst
nightmares, was sassy, funny, smart—if reluctant to always
do what she knew she should—and genuine. My only
complaint is that the chapters were so long yet so
enthralling that it was very difficult to read this one in
small snatches. So, rather than frustrate yourself, save
WHAT DOESN'T KILL YOU for a weekend, a long plane ride, or
a vacation, when you can kick up your heels and bury
yourself in another literary gem.
"I really thought I had a handle on life -- then it
broke off."
Opinionated, straight-talking, and witty,
Tee is a fly forty-something. Divorced since her daughter,
Amber, was young, Tee has been "handling her business,"
supporting herself after her would-be songwriter husband
took off for L.A., and she's done all right. Organized,
responsible, hardworking, and loyal, Tee went from being the
first employee of a start-up purveyor of organic lotions to
the right hand of the president of what became a major
player in the home and personal fragrance market.
But then
everything changes. First, she's outplaced from her longtime
job and doesn't tell anyone. Then she gives her daughter the
wedding of her dreams and, after overindulging in champagne,
Tee wakes up in bed with the younger best man.
For the
first time in twenty-five years, Tee doesn't know who she is
or what she's going to do every day. Deep in denial, she
continues to live her life as if nothing has changed. After
a series of financial mistakes, miscalculations, and
missteps compound her already shaky situation, she's soon
teetering on the edge of bankruptcy. That's when Tee decides
that it's time for her to wake up and face reality.
Beyond
"making money," Tee never really decided what she wanted to
do with her life. Then she just stopped thinking about it
and invested her hopes in someone else's dream. Now it's her
chance to invest in herself. Can she step out on faith to
follow her own dream?
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