Maribeth Klein is so busy with her job and taking care of her family that she doesn't even realize it when she suffers a heart attack. Instead, she just keeps pushing through her day until she lands in the hospital and undergoes emergency surgery. Afterwards, it becomes clear that she isn't going to be able to recuperate the way she needs to. Her mother comes to take care of Maribeth and her family, but instead, just creates more havoc. Maribeth's husband seems to expect that she'll be up on her feet and back to normal in a few days, and her children seem resentful that she needs rest. So, Maribeth does the unthinkable: she packs a bag and walks out. Once she is away from everyone she knows, and completely out of contact, Maribeth can focus on herself for once, and finally face up to some of her own secrets.
This is Forman's first book for adults, and I found it read just as smoothly and easily as her other books. This book is character-driven, and touches on a number of different issues, including trust, jealousy, and facing up to not only fears, but facing up to the fact that expectations don't always match reality. I thought it was interesting that there really isn't a straight plot line here. There isn't an end goal, other than for Maribeth to understand how to come to terms with some of the choices that she has made. The reader gets insight into Maribeth's life through the narrative and through flashbacks in the story, but it's hard to predict what's going to happen by the end of the story. However, I think that may be part of the point of this story; it's not where you end up, but the journey that counts.
I think that for some readers, it may be hard to understand how Maribeth could walk out on her children. However, I appreciate that Forman gives us a character who does just that, and who grapples with that decision, but who also focuses on getting back to herself, instead of just continuing to be miserable and going further into the rut that she's in. While I didn't necessarily relate to the story on a personal level, I found this to be a very readable story with realistic characters, and I liked the focus on family dynamics.
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