It’s been eleven years since Jill Castillo and her three best friends made a pact to remain thirty-nine forever. Unfortunately, Jill’s fiftieth birthday brings with it the onset of menopause and a midlife crisis-making it difficult for her to keep their agreement. Thankfully, Jill can rely on the always-present love, support, and humor of her lifelong friends, who are all discovering that “the change” can be quite disruptive in many ways. Barb is desperate to put the spice back in her marriage and will go to surgical extremes to make it happen; Patty just wants to get married and start her “fantasy” life; and Kate, the group comedienne, is sending her only child off to college while still managing to unwittingly entertain her three best friends. Jill has her own unique set of challenges to face as “life after fifty” commences. Empty Nest Syndrome strikes with a vengeance, so Jill reenters the workforce for the first time in two decades. She decides to become a chauffeur for senior citizens, but soon madcap events combined with senior moments test Jill’s patience with her new career choice. Not to mention her crazy relatives, who show up on her doorstep at will. The only way Jill will make it through her fiftieth year with any shred of her sanity intact will be by leaning on her best friends. Together, they might find a way to deal with life after thirty-nine.
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I will buy this book for my girlfriend. I even know which one. This book is a nice big tall cup of Starbucks best coffee with whipped cream and chocolate sprinkles. This book is a huge slice of chocolate mud cake with as many forks as you have girlfriends to share it with.
There is no mystery. There is no suspense. There is no life-altering drama… or is there? Menopause is a life altering phenomeneon, isn’t it?
However, this book is not about drama and conflict. The Forever 39ers is simply a year in a life of the main character Jill, her family and her 3 best friends. It is a bit of everything from the fun and shenanigans of going for group colonoscopy (yeah, right) to the horrors of swimsuit shopping, from birthday parties to broken hearts.
This book is a very nice read. It is like a best friend in a way. The book is here to show you that you are not alone in your travel past 39 y.o. It is here to support your life choices or point you in a direction of a new angle on your life. Have a read, you will know what I mean.
Svetlana Tishchenko 