The Book:
After Happily Ever After by Leslie A. Rasmussen
Published April 6th 2021 by SheWrites Press
Date read: April 11, 2022
The Characters:
Maggie
Buy it on Bookshop.org | Amazon
The Plot (from Goodreads):
Maggie Dolan finds herself at forty-five at a crossroads in her life. Once a high-level executive, she’s chosen to be a stay-at-home mom for the last seventeen years. But now with her daughter, Gia, soon leaving for college, and her husband, disconnected and with secrets he hasn’t shared, Maggie decides it’s time to figure out what she wants for the rest of her life. As she begins her journey, she has to deal with a narcissistic mother, a brother who doesn’t like her and most damaging of all, the news that her father, her rock, has medical issues that may take him from her. Overwhelmed by all these issues, she’s led in a direction that could destroy what she’s built and make her question the choices she’s made. She’s torn between the life she’s always known and something more exciting that she never expected.
The Review:
Oh man, did I feel for Maggie! With her daughter about to leave the house and her husband distant and ignoring her, Maggie has to figure out what she wants to do with the rest of her life.
I haven’t reached Maggie’s stage in life yet, but this book was so well written that I found Maggie incredibly relatable and had a very easy time putting myself in her shoes. I’m sure other moms will love this honest look into another family’s household, when it’s not all shiny and happily ever after. Maggie made some decisions that I don’t think I would have, but I could understand how someone in her position might want to. She missed a lot of red flags that were glaringly obvious to the reader, too!
I enjoyed this author’s writing style and Maggie’s snark. It was also interesting to get a couple chapters from her husband’s POV, to learn the things he wasn’t telling Maggie. The chapters from the POV of Maggie’s aging father were heartbreaking, as he struggled with losing his memory.
The ending was a little abrupt and I would have liked more resolution, but it did stick with the title’s theme.
I think this book will really resonate with moms, wives, and adult daughters that are trying to do it all.
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