About

When an author with background as journalist and novelist pens a memoir, the result is a remarkable blending of the three forms. There is objective reportage, and there is the elegance of a literary novel. There is the beautifully drawn emotional journey of a soul in transition that is honest and piercing in its vulnerability without being self-pitying, without sugar-coating or overplaying her own shortcoming and missteps in the face of her husband’s breathtaking unkindness. There is also a masterfully managed element of suspense; although the subtitle of the book “How I Found Peace in Betrayal and Divorce” lets us know right away that author Letherer won’t remain broken, the crescendo of setbacks and curve balls builds an uneasy sense of what-next? More than once I felt a small tingling sense of not quite knowing if I was reading a novel or a memoir, the events sometimes so seemingly inventive in that truth-is-stranger-than-fiction way. A central thread throughout the book is Letherer’s desire to become the writer she feels she is meant to be, navigating the deep doubts many emerging writers experience and the nay-saying and often-despicable smack-downs from those who supposedly know more (a college instructor tells her that her writing “makes me sick”). This only stoked the joy I felt when I closed the book, yes!, she made it as a writer, and yes, we can look forward to reading more.