What is more appealing as the subject of a summer read than a peek into the uber-elite and secretive lives of celebrities? Answer – nothing. Elite moviemaker Ted Stabler's wife, Holly, is planning a Bump to Pump fundraiser that has to go off without a hitch. That will be next to impossible if personal assistant Zanne isn't at the helm of the planning and execution. Zanne, Ted's personal assistant, is also his work wife – she is his go-to right hand, his mind reader, his need fulfiller, and his tantrum preventer. With Zanne in charge, nothing can go awry… right? Told over the course of a day and through three wildly different but inextricably linked personalities of Ted's "wives," Alison B. Hart's THE WORK WIFE unpacks a reckoning of epic proportions that the party's preceding events are leading up to.
THE WORK WIFE follows three richly developed characters and effortlessly and believably weaves their days together. There's Zanne, the dutiful, overachieving personal assistant, who fronts a tough exterior but is wrestling with her demons and emotions as she navigates the next milestones in her life. There's Holly, the current Stabler matriarch (and trophy wife), who desperately wants to be acknowledged more seriously for her accomplishments but simultaneously won't venture too far out of her comfortable cocoon. And finally, there's Phoebe, Ted's first wife, and a feisty, scrappy movie producer-cum-teacher who is finding the courage to make the movie of her dreams after decades out of the business. Their paths converge in both predictable and unexpected ways throughout the day, resulting in a steadily-paced read infused with a satisfying amount of depth and drama.
Drawing from her own authentic experiences as a personal assistant, Hart offers a credible peek into the functioning of the exclusive home organization – a fully-equipped staffing model dedicated to managing the day-to-day lives of the ultra-wealthy so they don't have to do so. This tale explores which sacrifices are worth it to realize the life of your dreams, how the modern-day power struggle between men and women still manifests itself, and what exactly does it take for a woman to feel empowered to own her destiny and power? If you appreciate subtle and nuanced story-telling, you will certainly appreciate THE WORK WIFE. If you're looking for an escape from the doldrums of summer chores, deadlines, and shuttling the family from one activity to the next, this is a great escapist read!
Zanne Klein never planned to be a personal assistant to Hollywood royalty Ted and Holly Stabler. But a decade in at thirty-eight, that's exactly how she spends her days, earning six figures to make sure the movie mogul and his family have everything they could ever dream of and more.
However, today is no ordinary day at the Stabler estate. Tonight, everyone who's anyone will be there for the Hollywood event of the season, and if the party’s a success, that chief of staff job Zanne's been chasing may soon be hers. Which means she can buy a house, give her girlfriend the life she deserves, pay off her student loans.
Nothing's going to get in Zanne’s way—not disgruntled staff, not a nosy reporter, not even a runaway hostess. But when Ted’s former business partner, Phoebe Lee, unexpectedly shows up right before go time, Zanne suddenly has a catastrophe unfolding before her—one with explosive consequences. As the truth comes out and Zanne realizes how deeply entangled she's become in the Stablers' world, she must decide if the sacrifices she's made for the job are worth the moral price she has to pay.
Told over the course of a single day and from three fierce perspectives, The Work Wife is a richly observed novel about female ambition, complicity, privilege and what happens when the brightest of stars aren't allowed to shine.
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