The Idea of You
With her fortieth birthday approaching, Lucy Carpenter dares to hope that she finally has it all: a wonderful new husband, Jonah, a successful career and the chance of a precious baby of her own. Life couldn’t be more perfect.
But the reality of becoming parents proves much harder than Lucy and Jonah imagined. Jonah’s love and support is unquestioning, but as Lucy struggles with work and her own failing dreams, the strain on their marriage increases. Suddenly it feels like Lucy is close to losing everything…
Heart-wrenching and poignant, this latest work by bestselling author Amanda Prowse asks the question: what does it mean to be a mother in today’s hectic world? And what if it’s asking too much to want it all?
I don’t think Amanda Prowse knows how to write a bad novel; I hope I didn’t jinx her for saying that lol! In The Idea of You we find yet another gleaming and emotionally wrought journey that defines what we mean by family and motherhood. Fair warning, grab the multipack of Kleenex before you sit down, scrub your makeup off because there is no waterproof strong enough to handle this novel and turn off your cell so you can become immersed in this without interruptions.
Prowse has a true gift for capturing realism within her pages even if it means bringing to the forefront issues we don’t want to talk about because it’s easier to pretend they don’t exist. This author writes in such a way that you feel like she’s speaking directly to you and wants you to know you’re not alone. Even if you haven’t experienced this particular aspect of trying to create a family she still evokes every emotion possible out of you because as human beings we all know that level of pain of wanting something so deeply but feeling like it’s just out of our reach or the journey to get it is asking more of us than we think we can handle.
This novel may be steeped in anguish but Prowse brilliantly pulls out all the stops to ensure you still find the light of positivity in the darkest of corners. The way she showcases family relationships, dynamics all within her detailed and vibrant character development begs the question if she’s not describing very real people in her life. Her characters leap off the pages to become portrayals of those we all know, even ourselves, so you want to become invested in seeing Lucy succeed at her heart’s desire.
This book really should be read as a group in the hopes that it will cause you to talk about how it affects you and maybe help someone with similar problems find the ‘family’ she needs to get through those hard moments.
Thank you to Netgalley and Lake Union Publishing for allowing me to review this book.
*synopsis and pic from amazon.com