July 2009 Bonus Selection

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Product Description

WIfe Goes On is the story of four women with nothing in common but divorce, who learn that it's more than enough to become friends - and spend one life-changing summer helping each other live happier ever after. Wife Goes On celebrates the second acts of today's women with humor, heartbreak, and hope. Husbands may come and go, but friends are forever.

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Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #639380 in Books
• Published on: 2008-03-01
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 307 pages

From Publishers Weekly
Lehr turns out a frothy escape novel that examines a cross-section of contemporary Los Angeles divorcées who become fast friends despite themselves. There's Diane, a mom of two whose husband's gambling led to bankruptcy and divorce. Then there's Lana, the former wife of a Hollywood heartthrob whose public breakup became a national punch line and led her to change her name and find work at a furniture store. Rounding out the cast is sweet-as-sugar Bonnie, a former homecoming queen now saddled with two children and an overbearing husband, and icy divorce attorney Annette, whose husband left her for another man. After a chance encounter in Lana's furniture store, Diane discovers Annette is living in the house she lost, and Bonnie has a mini-breakdown while choosing a coffee table; the four eventually find themselves looking to each other for support, insight and favors. Although occasionally veering toward the implausible or clichéd—such as when Lana spurns her ex on national television—Lehr keeps the plot moving with madcap hijinks and tender moments. (Mar.)
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Review
"A celebration of second acts wrapped up in a humorous homage to the power of friendship." -- Anna Huffington, bestselling author of On Becoming Fearless

"A hopeful romp of sex, humor and friendship." -- Bruce Bauman, author of And the Word Was

"Leslie Lehr is a truth teller - a rare writer who untangles the realities of women's lives without flinching, while making you laugh, cry, and nod in understanding with every word." -- Leslie Morgan Steiner, editor, Mommy Wars and Washington Post Columnist

"Like Olivia Goldsmith before her, Leslie Lehr has done the impossible: She's made divorce into a winning, funny, and inspiring activity, if one fraught with the sadness of mistakes made and lives changed. Wife Goes On isn't fictionalized self-help or mundane chick-lit; it's about loving, escaping, and living again, the hard road to finding relevance... and the joy found in occasionally running over every rut and divot in that very same road. Just like in real life." -- Tod Goldberg, author of Simplify, Living Dead Girl, and Fake Liar Cheat

"Wife Goes On is a tantalizing romp through the world of the newly divorced featuring a group of women who are vulnerable, smart, resourceful, wonderfully resilient, and wickedly funny. Anyone who's been through a bad breakup will recognize the heartaches and triumphs that rise from these pages." -- Hope Edelman, bestselling author of Motherless Mothers

From the Publisher
ADVANCE PRAISE FOR WIFE GOES ON

"A celebration of second acts wrapped up in a humorous, heartfelt homage to the power of friendship." --Arianna Huffington, bestselling author of On Becoming Fearless

"Winning, funny, and inspiring." --Tod Goldberg, author of Simplify, Living Dead Girl & Fake Liar Cheat

"Sexy and fabulous!" --Jerrilyn Farmer, author of the best-selling Madeline Bean Mysteries

"A hopeful romp of sex, humor and friendship." --Bruce Bauman author of And The Word Was

"Leslie Lehr is a truth teller -- a rare writer who untangles the realities of women's lives without flinching, while making you laugh, cry, and nod in understanding with every word." --Leslie Morgan Steiner, editor, Mommy Wars, and daily online work/family columnist for washingtonpost.com

"Wickedly funny. Anyone who's been through a bad breakup will recognize the heartaches and triumphs that rise from these pages." -- Hope Edelman, bestselling author of Motherless Mothers

"Underlying the sass and verve of Lehr's prose are trenchant insights on relationships, friendships and motherhood--not to mention the kind of wisdom that comes from hard knocks plus a few good laughs!" --Samantha Dunn, author of Failing Paris, Not By Accident and Faith in Carlos Gomez

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Customer Reviews

Must read this funny, inspirational book!!
Leslie Lehr has created a captivating, beautifully-written story of love, friendship and hope for the future. Set in Los Angeles, it tells the story of four dissimilar women in failing/failed marriages who meet by chance. After sharing many poignant moments, a heartwarming, supportive friendship develops. Together, they learn how to survive the heartache and ultimately, live that happy ending. Ms. Lehr brilliantly intertwines the lives of these four women to bring them together. Amusing antics provide many laugh-out-loud moments. Her surprizing choice for the womens' business venture was a clever, amusing addition! This charming story serves as a wonderful inspiration to all women learning how to persevere and move on towards a new beginning. I really loved this extremely entertaining page-turner. I could easily understand and relate to these amazing women in many ways. Also, this wonderfully engaging story served as an excellent reminder of the necessity and importance of female friendships. I HIGHLY RECOMMEND that you and your friends grab a copy of this book and start reading!!

Cute and light
Four women from varying walks of life are going through, contemplating or recovering from divorce. Through a series of coincidences they end up being friends and each other's support group as they begin to make new lives for themselves.

Cute and often funny this was an easy read chick-lit book. Reminiscent in many ways of The First Wives Club it was breezy and sometimes witty but some of the situations seemed wildly improbable, and I find it hard to believe that these four women, from such different environments would cross paths in the first place, never mind become fast friends. A nice bit of fluff to start off the summer, a no brainer read.

From S. Krishna's Books
When I first heard about Wife Goes On, I thought it sounded like a fun, light-hearted book. I knew it would deal with divorce, a weighty issue, but I expected it to be an easy novel to read. I was definitely right, but I also found a lot that I wasn't expecting within the pages of Wife Goes On.

Anyone who reads my reviews on a regular basis knows that I love books about women coming together and forging friendships, regardless of the reason. I like getting to know each of the characters through their own eyes, as well as through the voices of the other characters. I loved the way Lehr connected the different characters in the book. At the beginning, I'd be reading Diane's story, cursing the woman who bought her house from under her and cheering at the bottle of wine she stole from the house before leaving it. Then, a few pages later, I'd be reading Annette's story, cursing the woman who stole a bottle of wine from Annette's new house. It took time for me to make the connection that these were two different sides of the same story.

It really is telling that I sympathized with each and every character in the book. Lehr writes each of these women very well; the reader roots for each and every one of them, even when their happiness seems to be a zero-sum game. I have to say that my favorite character was Diane. I love the metamorphosis she went through after her divorce; it definitely serves as an inspiration to women everywhere!

So what was I not expecting about the novel? The sex. Not so much man-woman sex, but the tools a woman can use to...service herself. It's actually a big part of the book. I found it surprising at the beginning, but as I got into it, I definitely found the whole thing amusing. It's not graphic, and it's actually used as a business opportunity in the book (can't say much more or I'll spoil it!). It's definitely not dirty, but if the idea makes you uncomfortable, this book might not be for you.

I really enjoyed Wife Goes On; despite the rather familiar 4-women storyline, the book is refreshing and original. A huge thank you to author Brenda Janowitz for putting me in touch with Leslie, and thank you to Leslie for sending me Wife Goes On to review!