Life has been conspiring against me as of late, so I need to tender my apologies to you all for missing last weekend, and now being a day late for this past weekend.
So, with a minimum of sniveling and begging for forgiveness...
This week's Oldie but Goodie is...
Pushing 30
by Whitney Gaskell
Released October 2003
For those of us who have (ahem!) recently pushed past our 30th birthday, the pain is probably still fairly fresh in our minds. I know you remember the signs that surely heralded the arrival of doomsday: the appearance of crow's feet that seemed to have sprung up overnight around our eyes that are puffy from crying at the prospect of turning 30, the liver spots we imagined we could see forming on our aging hands, and if you were unmarried, the cries of your mother/aunt/grandmother/very settled and happy friend wondering none-too subtly why you haven't snatched Mr. Right, or Mr. Right Now, whichever way the wind blows on that particular day.
Well. Meet Ellie Winters. 29 years old. Litigation attorney for a prestigious New York law firm. She is single. She hates her job.
And the drop-dead handsome, older news anchor has mistaken her for a woman 15 years older than she actually is.
Not the thing a woman who is about to turn 30 wants to hear.
Complicating her life are parents who want her to succeed at a career they chose for her (but she absolutely loathes). Her mother is constantly bringing up Ellie's high-school friends who have gotten married or just had babies, always using those opportunities to needle her daughter into feeling guilty for still being single. Her best friend has just hooked up with an emotionally controlling loser.
Did I mention the drop-dead handsome, older news anchor who has mistaken her for a woman 15 years older than she actually is? I did? Well, Ellie is in for a surprise when Ted Langston, said nationally recognized news anchor, runs into her at Starbucks, on purpose!
Will wonders never cease?
Pushing 30 is a wonderfully refreshing trip down memory lane for those of us who have been in Ellie's shoes, in any capacity. Ms. Gaskill made me laugh at times, and get mad for Ellie's sake when it seemed the world was conspiring against her. All these things have made this story one of my all-time favorites. The heat level is actually semi-sweet, with the intimacy hinted at, but never actually described.
If you are looking for a funny, sometimes sarcastic, always interesting look at what it's like for a woman just beginning to get a hint of a taste of middle-age and what is to come, you need to read this book.
You can find out more about this fantastically talented author and peruse her booklist on her website - http://www.whitneygaskell.com/
Happy Reading!
1 comment:
Sounds like my kind of book! I had to endure all that too, because I married about a decade after everyone else I grew up with in my small town. And I moved to Alaska to do it too!
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