A Window Opens by Elizabeth Egan

This is a story about a smart woman juggling kids, an out-of-work-boozy husband, beloved-aging parents and a brand new way-over-her-head job. From her home in suburban New Jersey, the heroine Alice Pearse, mother of three, sets out for her dream job at a start-up trying to launch a coffee-shop style chain of literary lounges dedicated to the classics. Of course the job is not as dreamy as Alice imagines but her journey back into the work force is still funny and real.  It seems like this territory has been covered many times before (by Fielding, Semple, Reddy and more), but something about the way this author tackles it seems fresh, quirky and well worth the read. In particular, the relationships between Alice and her husband, her sick father and even her children's nanny don't smack of routine but rather of real people plowing through this modern world just trying to keep their act together. I was reading this book on a day when I went through several hours of errands and suddenly realized my cardigan sweater was on inside out. The Old Navy tag at the neck was flapping around in the wind for all to see it was not from Neiman’s. However, I did not beat myself up about this. I simply stood patiently in the supermarket line, and reversed the sweat to its correct position. I think this is something Alice would do, too. I hope you enjoy reading her story as much as I did. Yes, yes it is a good beach read, but let’s decide right now that beach books can be read all year long. To purchase this book on Amazon click here.