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Summary
Summary
A grave loss changes the lives of three friends in ways they never imagined in this warm and heartrending debut novel.
What makes a wife a lover?
For Kate, the spark went out of her marriage long ago but her husband doesn't seem to notice. Their role as parents consumes their lives so they need to rekindle the romance they once shared.
What makes a woman a mother?
For Jo, a high-powered career has led her to believe that she doesn't have a single maternal instinct. When an orphan unexpectedly enters her life, she is forced to confront her own unhappy childhood and the walls it has built around her heart.
What makes a man the love of your life?
For Sarah, home is the steamy jungles of Africa while the man of her dreams waits in the air-conditioned confines of Los Angeles. Her longing for this man from the past is blinding her to a new love standing right in front of her.
What these women all have in common is a friend with a generous soul, an irrepressible spirit- and a serious illness. In her final letters, Rachel raises one last question: What makes a friend live in our hearts forever?
Author Notes
While studying for her Ph.D. in chemistry, RITA finalist Lisa Verge Higgins penned twelve romance novels under her maiden name. She lives in New Jersey with her husband, an attorney, and their children.
Reviews (3)
Publisher's Weekly Review
Higgins's (Heaven in His Arms) life-affirming novel reduces a fearless foursome to three when the adventurous Rachel Braun dies of cancer at 38. Though Rachel kept her diagnosis a secret from her friends, she wrote each a challenge to be read after her death. Kate Jansen, a married homemaker with three children, is told to skydive ("you're overwhelmed by your life," Rachel writes). In Rachel's view, globe-trotting Doctors Without Borders nurse Sarah Pollard is blinded to love in her grief over her ex: "You need to win him back, or finally say good-bye." But it's Bobbie "Jo" Marcum, a single, commitment-phobic businesswoman, of whom Rachel makes the greatest request, by leaving her custody of her seven-year-old daughter: "Take Grace." Large and small, their decisions affect them all in transformative ways, as when Kate accompanies Sarah to find her ex, now a doctor living in India. Higgins's romantic tendencies (she's penned several romance novels) inform the proceedings; with her mainstream debut, she creates a happy reminder that life is all about taking risks. (Jan.) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.
Kirkus Review
At the urging of a dying friend, three women take life-altering risks.As the novel opens, Rachel has already died of cancer. It is a cosmic joke that Rachel, mountain climber, base jumper, sky diver, lived a life of extreme adventure unscathed, only to succumb to an ordinary disease. After her death, her best friends receive letters with a last request: Kate, an over-scheduled soccer mom, is to go sky-diving; Sarah, a relief worker in Africa, is to track down the doctor she once loved; and career woman Jo, man-killer, is to become legal guardian to Rachel's 7-year-old daughter Gracie. After Kate sky-dives for the second time, she mentions it to husband Paul, who is none too pleased that his dependable wife is taking afternoons off to risk her life. But she loves it, and it makes her see how stiff her marriage has become, how tied to her children's lives she is, how she has somehow disappeared. The strain on her marriage is solidified when she decides to accompany Sarah to India to track down Dr. Colin O'Rourke. Fourteen years ago in the Peace Corps in Paraguay, the two fell in love, he left, and Sarah has been holding a torch for the god-like doctor ever since. Finding him is Rachel's last request, so once and for all Sarah can move on. When Sarah and Kate arrive in India, Sam, a dashing colleague of Sarah's in Africa, is there to greet them. It is no coincidencehe's in love with Sarah and has followed her, but she only has room for Colin. When they eventually meet, it seems he's been carrying a torch too. In the midst of this exotic romance, Jo is in New York with Gracie, as she tries to make a home (baby gates? Mac and cheese? Barbie?) for a traumatized orphan. Of course the women learn their lessonslive life more fullybut only Jo's challenge is vital: to learn how to become a mother.Higgins balances humor and a touch of pathos to deliver an amiable tale of friendship.]] Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Booklist Review
Rachel, Kate, Jo, and Sarah have been close friends since college despite their differences. Rachel is an energetic, adventurous daredevil; Kate is the perfect housewife; Jo is a tough-as-nails career woman; and Sarah is a dedicated humanitarian, who spends her time in the jungles of Africa. Rachel's life is tragically cut short by cancer, but she leaves letters behind for all her friends and family, urging them to challenge themselves and step outside the boundaries of their comfortable lives. Kate must go skydiving, Sarah has to look up and reconnect with the one that got away, and Jo is entrusted with the care of Rachel's young daughter. Although Kate, Jo, and Sarah are surprised by Rachel's requests, they can't refuse her last wishes, and in executing them, they find out what's really important in life. Higgins' novel will appeal to fans of feel-good stories whose life lessons lead to happy endings.--Hatton, Hilary Copyright 2010 Booklist
