Book Review: The Summer I Found Myself by Colleen French

 Disclosure / Disclaimer: I received this ebook free of charge, from Kensington Books via #netgalley, for review purposes on this blog. No compensation, monetary or in kind, has been received or implied for this post. Nor was I told how to post about it, all opinions are my own

In Colleen French's heartfelt summer read, a Delaware oceanside cottage is the perfect setting for a season of surprising lessons about how much there is to gain--when you finally let go...

Synopsis:

In the last two years, English professor Ellen Tolliver has weathered heartache with grace--including an unwelcome divorce and losing her parents. In her more honest moments, Ellen might admit that she's sick of loss. She longs to stretch and grow, to truly fill her days. Maybe this year, she'll have something to recount in her Christmas letter other than her son's travel adventures. Maybe she'll be too busy to even write a Christmas letter.

 

On impulse, Ellen invites her ailing best friend, Lara, to spend the summer with her at the Delaware beach house she inherited from her parents. Lara can relax on the big front porch after chemo while Ellen readies the house for sale. But Lara has plans too--she'd like to help Ellen discover who she is, or better yet, who she can still become.

 

At Lara's urging, Ellen joins a local writer's group, tries online dating, and mingles with the new friends Lara brings home from her support group. She forgoes white wine (won't stain if you spill it!) for red and eats French fries for breakfast. She even flirts with the local bookstore owner, a handsome, sun-kissed, younger man. And as she embraces the freedom that comes with breaking her own rules, she wonders if it's not just her past that lies in this beloved quirky town, but her future too...

Review:

Hankie alert- you know a character in the book has chemo, so no surprise, you MAY need a box of tissues to get through this understated book!

Filled with older characters, this book is about what we have, what we think we have, and what is so easy to slip through our fingers, without us realizing it. It's a book about learning to live, when life offers you a chance to take door #2, even if it seems the opposite of everything you've ever done and been. Sometimes letting go is harder than taking the leap of faith. It's also a book about what we should value in life, and one not to be missed

About the Author:

Colleen French lives in Delaware, where her family settled more than three hundred years ago. She comes from a long line of storytellers and spends her days, when she's not writing, running the family farm, reading, and traveling the world. She has four children and seven grandchildren.